From Fantasy to Reality
by Zeromaru Chaos Mode
Summary: What if harry got a letter from Dudley at the end of fifth year? What if harry and Dudley thought up new methods of using Magic? What if Harry finally grew a spine? Voldemort best look out. Harry's been Thinking.
1. Prologue

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Prologue**

**FLASHBACK:**

**End of Fifth Year, Hogwarts Express: compartment 32 B…**

An unusual owl flew into the window, surprising Harry Potter and his friends. The owl dropped a letter into his lap, and flew away. Blinking in confusion, he opened the letter.

_**Harry,**_

_**Ahh…geez I don't know how to put this. I've been a right ponce to you all these years, and as much as I'd like to do my normal and pin it all on Mum and Dad…I've been part of the problem too. First, I wanna thank you for risking yourself to save my life. Mrs. Fig told me what those ruddy things were, and what you did, along with a short bit of what happened after that. Actually the owl that dropped this off to you was hers…I didn't exactly know when your school ended, and she didn't say, so I just asked her to send the ruddy thing. I wanted to say I'm sorry, though I doubt it's much. Also the old bat told me about the legend surrounding you. Blasted the bastard who offed your parents eh? Somewhere I always knew there was something big about you…just had ways to ignore it. But she told me he's come back. And…he DETESTS anything that's not your kind. To make up for all the shite I put you through growing up…I wanna help you off this guy.**_

_**You've got your magic…and she mentioned something about you being "of age" this summer. I guess that means you'll be able to do it 'round the house then. Though from what little I managed to remember about your good qualities, I doubt you'll do it in plain sight. And probably only to scare off Dad…which if you did do something particularly nasty for, I'd probably ignore it. Finally realized how much of a moron my own father is…though it's not easy to come to terms with. Oh craps I've been ranting. Anyway, there's some stuff that we mubbles, do that your kind probably doesn't know about. And since you have that magic stuff…I've got a few things to show you that might give you ideas.**_

_**I kinda…went through one of your books last summer when nobody was around. It said a lot of stuff that I didn't get, but one of the lines that stood out was something like "the control of magic is wielded by the intent of the user." Whatever that means. I think it might help you out though. And if that line is true (and you know what it means, cause I sure as hell don't) then the stuff I have to show you REALLY might give you an edge on this guy. Nobody said you had to off him the magic way right? Though if what I've heard from Mrs. Fig is right, a shot between the eyes probably wouldn't be enough.**_

_**Anyway, I doubt I'll be able to openly talk to you about this stuff till your birthday…but that doesn't mean I cant show you the stuff I mentioned. I've been thinking about this all year, and I've come up with a few things that might help. I'll see you the night you get back.**_

_**Someone who's not even going to bother to ask for forgiveness,**_

_**Dudley.**_

Harry was shocked. The letter sounded nothing like his infernal cousin at all…yet…something told him that it was all true. The shock was obviously shown on his face, because Hermione tried to snatch the letter out of his hand. However seeing as he was still a bit emotionally unstable (not that this letter helped those matters anyway), he snapped at her, thwarting her attempts. Afterwards, still glaring at her, he placed the letter securely in his trunk, hefted it onto his seat, and sat on it.

"It's none of your business, and if I even THINK that you should know, it'll be when I decide, not you Hermione!"

**END FLASHBACK**

It's been a month since that day. Dudley stayed true to his word. The two of them watched anime after anime, played game after game, read book after book. All while Harry was getting some serious physical activity in by randomly sparring with Dudley, along with the roof work the two of them were doing. Petunia and Vernon were against Dudley helping, but when he said he wanted to, they couldn't deny him. So from that and his Quidditch games, Harry became rather fit. He still looked too thin, but at least now he was physically, and mentally stronger.

It was within that month that Harry took a look at the book Dudley mentioned in his letter. It did indeed have that line, along with the theory of magical manipulation. Harry tried some minor exercises to see if he had the talent. He did, though some feats were harder than others. What really surprised Harry was when he discovered his hidden talent at "Aura Reading." He could tell how strong, or what alignment a person had by the energy they put off. Powerful auras would be nearly solid walls of color, whereas weak ones would be faint and flickering. Concealed auras, auras belonging to people who learned how to hide their true potential, were small, but still solid outlines. He learned all this on his own, surprisingly.

What REALLY got him however was how he learned he could control the energy field that surrounded all living beings, muggles included. He couldn't control anyone's but his own, but he was able to manipulate it just as well as he could his magic. It wasn't as versatile as say being able to cast a Disarming, stunning, bludgeoning and cutting hex, but he learned he could deflect most projectiles, send invisible waves of force, even levitate objects with it, though for the second two tasks it took a good bit of his energy.

When Dudley learned about it, he immediately sat Harry down and popped in an anime he called Neon Genesis Evangelion. After a few episodes Harry learned why. The robots there, along with the monsters, could utilize a field of energy much like his own. The show called it an AT Field, so Harry did the same.

The increase in power didn't end there however. What nobody knew was that in his spare time, which was rare, he nicked one of Hermione's ancient Runes books. Originally he didn't think he'd have a use for them, even though he committed what he learned to memory, but a few days before his birthday, Dudley came home and surprised him.

The slowly thinning boy told Harry that he had just seen an anime with his friends called .hack. In it, there was a creature that looked like a barbell with a gold ring in the center. The ring gave the creature the ability to pierce the target's body, and do whatever it wanted, from knocking them out, to turning them into a scarecrow. Dudley theorized that if Harry could do that, then he'd be set. So for the next few days before his birthday the two of them went over the possibilities, theories and applications of such an object. Harry fused his Rune's knowledge, what little he had, with the making of the Bracelet, for it was obvious that a ring could not be used to hold that type of ability at Harry's current level of skill and power, and tested it on various old toys of Dudley's. The bracelet worked on his toys, and other inanimate objects. However it didn't do a thing when Dudley suggested Harry use it on him. So they puzzled over why…when it hit Harry. He infused a toy with a bit of energy from his field, and then tried the bracelet. Nothing happened. He took the television remote and used the bracelet. Nothing happened. It was then that they realized that the bracelet's current state couldn't pierce anything with an energy field of ANY sort, let alone a human's.

So for the last few hours before Harry's birthday, both boys studied the runes, their actions, and their potentials. Harry tried a few experiments and learned that like in Evangelion, his energy field had the power to hold, bind, and negate someone else's of his own or lower power. He also came up with a spell that would temporarily shatter that energy field, which would scramble the senses of his opponent, along with possibly messing up their magical control, seeing as that was just an advanced form of energy manipulation. However, he noted that it could potentially not work as well when the opponent was at full strength, or even had a higher well of power than him. Of course he'd have no way of telling until after he was of age. The boys had made three. Two for Harry; "Incase you might need twice the power y'know? Snakey might just be too strong for just one." And one for Dudley. Why one for Dudley?

"Look Dudley, I'm gonna need you to convince your parents that with Voldemort back, even with me here to charge the wards it may not be safe."

"It's cause he was brought back using your blood right?"

"Yeah. WHY Dumbledore hasn't factored that in yet is beyond me…but after last year…I've stopped trusting him so fully. So it's a precaution."

When asked how it would work for him, considering he's a muggle, Harry explained.

"I made yours with a bit of my blood on the runes. Since my mother's blood is in your mother, my blood is in you FROM your mother. And since my blood has magic flowing in it, it can draw from ambient magic around you to charge the Bracelet. It can probably only fire two shots, one if you use the Arc ability, but it can at least buy you some time to get away. If that happens drag your parents to Mrs. Fig's and tell her to contact Dumbledore."

Both boys hoped it wouldn't come to that, but Dudley was touched that Harry would use his own blood to help keep Dudley safe, after all the years of torture Dudley and his parents put him through. The two of them split for the night, Dudley wishing Harry an early happy birthday. When the clocks of England struck twelve, Harry was suddenly knocked unconscious, his body glowing.

**That Morning…**

Harry woke up feeling better than ever. The thought that nobody sent him a letter filled him with Sorrow, but he shelved it quickly. For all he knew Dumbledore and the Order were going to pick him up personally.

"BOY! GET DOWN HERE!"

Harry grumbled slightly, but realized something. He was Sixteen now. He could do magic. Not that he needed his wand to do what little he'd need around here, but hell, he could whip it out and nobody could do shit anymore! He strode down the stairs, confidence in his step and an eerie smile on his face.

"BOY! What are you smirking about?!"

"It's my birthday."

"AS IF I GIVE A SHITE WHAT DAY IT IS!"

"I'm Sixteen now."

"You speak as if it matters to me Boy!"

"Oh it does."

"And why is that?!"

He pulled out his wand. "_Petrificus Totalus." _Vernon's body went rigid, flashing a stone gray for a moment, and he fell to the side. _"Silencio." _He cast a quick silencing spell on the room, so no sound would get out. Petunia screamed.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"Oh I just put a petrifying spell on him. In case you didn't get my hints, I can do magic now. He's unharmed, but he's frozen solid. Can't move a muscle. Now, I COULD repay your _kindness_ to me for all these years…" Some sadistic part of him was satisfied with the fear in both his Uncle and Aunt's eyes. A part of him that rarely woke, but was easily quenched.

"But I don't feel like becoming exactly like you, so unless you start something with me, I won't do anything to you, got it?"

Petunia nodded in fear, as Vernon's eyes widened.

"Good." He canceled the spell. "I'd apologize, but I DO owe you for sixteen years of neglect."

He opened his mouth to say something…when suddenly something caught his eye. He turned and noticed a blank space in the air in the hall to the kitchen. He drew his wand, and motioned for the three of them to get behind him, which they did. He stared at the blank space, a small sphere-like object that floated in midair, stationary, slowly growing wider. Unknown to him, his eyes flashed red, and he could suddenly make out four glowing dots inside the sphere. The dots grew as the sphere did, Harry backing away as it got bigger, when suddenly the sphere stopped growing, and the dots became about half the size of the sphere. He watched as the sphere collapsed and the dots became people.

"Bill?"

"Hey Harry! I didn't expect you to be waiting here for us. How'd you know we were coming?"

"I saw it."

"You saw what?"

"Th-the thing you used. I saw what it did."

"You saw the Portkey?"

"So _that's _what they look like from outside…"

"Harry?"

"I'll explain later. I'm guessing you're here to pick me up?"

"Right in one."

"Good. Tonks, Professor Lupin, It's good to see you again."

"Wotcher Harry!"

"Good to see you Harry."

"Hello Harry."

Harry's eyes turned to a glare.

"Headmaster."

He turned. "Dudley, mind helping me out real quick?"

"Sure thing."

The two of them went to his room and gathered his things. "Whoa! Your bracelets!" They looked at Harry's arms. "They've changed!" "Wonder why…I mean…I DID feel different when I woke up."

"Maybe you've hit some increase in power cause you're of age?"

"I'll have to ask someone…"

The two of them came down the stairs, Harry's trunk floating behind him.

"Harry!"

"What? I'm sixteen. I can do magic outside of school now. Not that I'd need a levitation charm…"

"What do you mean my boy?"

"First off, I'm not _your boy_, second, I mean this."

He glared at the Headmaster, and gave in to his urges. His left hand made a clenching motion, and Dumbledore rose in the air. _Hey…I wasn't able to affect other's fields like this before…_

Dumbledore's eyes widened as he saw the anger in Harry's eyes just before he began floating. However he noted that weakened and turned to interested puzzlement before he was suddenly dropped. He landed on his behind.

"Surprised aren't we?"

They all blinked while Dudley chuckled. "Nice one Harry."

"Well, it's only the beginning. Anyway, I'm sure Mrs. Weasely is going batshit crazy at how long this is taking, so let's go."

The adults were too stunned at the sudden shift in attitude Harry was displaying to do much other than nod.

"Later Dudley. Oh yeah, I left you a rune book. See if you can figure out what made my Bracelets change so suddenly. I'll let you know if I come up with anything."

He opened Hedwig's cage and flicked his wrist at a window, which opened on its own. _And it used to take a good bit of focus even to do minor things like that…what the hell is going on here?_

"Where will we be?"

"Headquarters."

"Alright Hedwig, meet you at Headquarters alright?"

The owl hooted, nipped his ear affectionately, and flew out the open window.

He held the cage to the headmaster who looked at him quizzingly, even though he had the infernal twinkle in his eyes.

Harry rolled his own eyes in exasperation.

"She's gone so use it as a portkey. It's bigger than that ruddy sock your holding."

"Too true my-…Harry."

The elder wizard tapped the cage with his wand.

"Oh yes, one more thing before we go. I want you to call an order meeting. Don't care when, but I've got information, and things that you might want to know. I may dislike you right now Dumbledore, but even with these upgrades, and my new skills, Voldie's not gonna roll over and die that easy. And no matter what you say, Ron, Hermione and Ginny WILL be included. You can do your normal order business after it, and we'll leave if you want, I don't care. I'd also like to Invite Neville and Luna. This concerns them as well."

"A tall request Harry…but I'll see what I can do. Now, shall we depart?"

"Yes. By Dudley!"

"Later Potter."

With that, he felt not a pull on his navel like normal, but a small wrapping around his energy field as it pulled him along. His last thought before seeing nothing but a blur was…

_I have GOT to see if I can combine this with apparition along with my AT Field…_

* * *

Yes it's a new fic, no I'm not abandoning my other one, yes I'll update it soon, no I don't know how soon.

Updates for this story will be few and far between, I want to wrap up my other potter fic before I fully delve into this one. This was just a teaser, a possible other way my other HP fic could go.

Review if you want, leave an email address or something if you wanna discuss my theory on how portkeys and the like work. (As shown in this chapter)


	2. Surprise

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter I: Surprise!**

**POP**

Harry dropped to the ground from the portkey ride. _This sucks. _He got up and dusted himself off.

"Harry, why don't you take your things to your room, and then meet us in the living room afterwards?"

The young man nodded and carried his things up the stairs. Reaching the room labeled 'Harry,' he placed his trunk on the ground. He opened the window for when Hedwig arrived, and then checked himself.

_Let's see, Wand, check. Weights? Yep. Bracelets? Obviously. Pants? Check. Shirt? On. Ok, I'm set._

He walked down the stairs again, past the curtains holding back the old Mrs. Black, and to the door leading to the living room.

He opened the door and an unpleasant voice greeted him.

"Welcome Potter."

His head snapped up and he saw the last person he expected to see, Bellatrix Lestrange. Everyone else was huddled along the sides of the room.

_Wait…where's Tonks, and where the FUCK is Dumbledore? _"Lestrange." He nodded at her. "Where's your half-breed master?"

As expected the woman's eyes clouded with anger as she screamed at him. "DO NOT INSULT THE DARK LORD!"

"Whatever. You know I've got a bit of a score to settle with you."

"Awe, is itty bitty Potter missing his doggy?"

That struck a nerve, but Harry shelved it into the growing flame of rage. "To be honest, yeah. It's fucked up how he died, seeing as it looked like the two of you were having so much fun."

"He should have known better than to play around with the Dark Lord's best!"

"Indeed. Now I'm going to ask you to let my friends go."

"No chance Potter."

He sighed. "Very well..." He turned his gaze to a very specific part of the huddled group. One with eyes blazing in hatred. _But…why does it look…forced?_

"Sorry to do this Neville, I know you want revenge for your parents…but I'm gonna have to take this one."

The boy blinked at what he just said, as did everyone else.

He turned to Bellatrix and smiled a very dark, sadistic smile.

(Play Kingdom Hearts II FM: The Other Promise)

"I'm going to _enjoy _killing you."

Before anyone could react to what Harry just said, he had fired off five high powered Bludgeoning Hexes. Bellatrix let out an uncharacteristic squeak of fear and barely dodged out of the way, only to be smashed in the face by Harry's magic charged fist. Instead of following up, he leapt backwards and started waving his left hand in the air in front of him. A pentagram appeared in front of him and he jabbed his wand at it.

"_Hoshigami Rekuiemu!"_

The star began rotating at high speeds, and then fired a barrage of small glowing white pellets at Lestrange. The streaks of light arced their way to her, impacting, and causing severe pain.

"Harry stop!"

"Stay out of this Hermione!"

"No! You have to-

"SHUT UP GRANGER!"

He snapped his wand at her and suddenly she was bowled over by a giant wave of power.

"For what you did to Neville's parents…"

He fired a Smashing Hex at her left arm, shattering it. His left hand began waving again.

"For what you did to my god father…"

Bludgeoning Hex, this one snapped her right leg.

"For all the people you've killed and tortured…"

Body Bind. This time others were shouting for him to stop.

"You WILL Suffer!"

Another rune appeared in the air. It went to the palm of his hand. He then slammed the rune onto her forehead.

"_Akumu Itamu!"_

The rune flared to life, and Bellatrix screamed.

_Wait…why is there a shimmer around her? Almost like an illusion?_

His AT Field, radiating such pure hatred kept everyone at bay. Well…everyone except one girl. This one girl had picked up on the small feelings of confusion within the anger. Puzzled feelings, questioning certain things. She latched on to those feelings and the wave of hatred and anger washed past her like a river, and she was behind a safe rock. She got up and slowly made her way to Harry.

Harry's bracelet began to glow as it registered the braking of the energy field around Lestrange. He stepped back and raised his left arm…only to have a soft, gentle hand hold it. He turned his head to the side and saw a pair of silvery grey eyes staring back at him. The rune's job had finished and it faded from Lestrange's forehead.

"Luna…what are you doing?"

"It's alright Harold. You can stop now."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's not Bellatrix Lestrange."

"What?"

"Look at her Harry."

He turned back to the woman, and noticed the shimmer around her grow wilder. Her form changed back into that of a young woman he knew well.

He blinked.

"Tonks?"

The young woman in question lay twitching on the floor, not dead, but horribly injured. _It all makes sense now! Tonks was posing as Lestrange! But…why? Oh bollocks it doesn't matter now, I have to help her!_

He kneeled down to Tonks' form, tracing another rune in the air. He ripped open her shirt, exposing her rather well endowed chest. He lowered the rune onto her body, right between her breasts. This one oddly enough looked like a heart.

"_Fukkyu Inochi."_

The rune pulsated with a soft blue glow, and lines of energy streaked across her chest, flowing to the areas she needed healing. What saddened him slightly was that the rune's power was needed nearly everywhere. It healed the bones in her arm and leg, along with fixing her nose, restoring the blood she lost when he punched her, and healing her bruses. The young woman stirred, her eyes slowly opening to see Harry's green ones staring at her in concern.

"Wotcher (here she coughed lightly) Harry…"

"Hey Tonks."

She tried to get up, only to meet a hand to her chest as Harry gently stopped her.

"Give it another minute."

She looked at him quizzingly, only to look down, and notice that her chest was exposed for the whole room to see. She blushed heavily. The light slowly faded, the lines going back into the rune. The rune itself then slowly faded from view.

"You'll probably be a bit sore for a while…"

He turned and waved his left hand at the direction of the group. Thinking he was beckoning them over, a few got up and started walking, only to be smacked in the back of the heads by a flying couch. They dropped to the ground groaning. Luna gave a small giggle, as others gave a small chuckle or laugh at the scene. Harry paid no mind to it, carefully standing, then Levitating the couch over to near Tonks. She was about to get up when Harry raised his foot over her chest, a signal that meant 'stay down.'

He then focused his mind on the field around Tonks. It was weak from his repeated assault, but still there. He latched on to it and slowly lifted her up. He used both hands to stabilize his control out of worry for her. Everyone's eyes widened as he gently guided her body to the couch, and sat down, placing her on it as well, her head on his lap.

"Is there a reason you put us in this position? Or do you just feel like being a perv?"

He looked at her confused, and realized her shirt was still ripped open. He grew a small blush, but quickly countered.

"I dunno, the view IS nice…"

Not expecting such a retort, Tonks blushed slightly. Suddenly he felt his hand on her chest. She was about to become indignant when it began glowing softly.

"I've not the stock to trace another rune right now…so I have to keep my hand here in order to boost your healing."

Tonks glared slightly. "Fine, but if you cop a feel I'm bitin your bits off."

"Well, at least your mouth would've been on them for a bit."

This time a few of the other girls blushed as well as Tonks, DEFINATLY not expecting a response like that.

"So what's the deal? Why'd you do that?"

Hermione, who had recovered from Harry's provoked assault, spoke.

"It was Professor Snape's idea. Professor Dumbledore mentioned you had shown some odd abilities when he went to pick you up, and Professor Snape gave him the idea of having Tonks pretend to be Lestrange as a test to see what you could do…but then you just…exploded on her."

"Not exactly just yet Hermione. I'd like to wait till at LEAST the third date before I go that far."

It took a second to sink in…but when it did, the Twins, Moody, and Lupin along with Ron, Bill and Charlie were laughing their asses off. Most of the girls, especially Tonks, just blushed heavily.

"Speaking of the old man, where IS Dumbledore?"

"Right here."

He appeared so suddenly that it startled Harry. And when Harry was startled, his AT Field snapped into place instantly, the force of the sudden displacement of air sending the old man crashing into a wall.

"Professor!"

"Don't DO that you dumb old coot! You're bloody lucky that my reaction's turned from making something suddenly explode to my AT Field snapping into place!"

Hermione's eyes widened. She hadn't completely ignored her muggle heritage.

"You mean…like those things from Eva?"

"You watch Eva?"

"Occasionally…do you really have an AT Field?"

"Yeah. Look…someone conjure some chairs. I'll explain."

Those who could made seats, cushions and whatnot to sit on.

"At the end of last year I got a letter. The letter was from my cousin Dudley."

"Is that why you were so protective of it?"

"No, I snapped at you because you always make it seem like everything that has to do with me has to be overlooked by you. I'm not a child Hermione, and you're not even my _sister, _let alone my parent."

The girl looked down sadly. _Maybe I was a bit…too forceful…in trying to help…_

"Anyway, Dudley wrote some things, mostly apologizing and saying he had ideas of how we could fuse muggle things with magic. During the month I stayed at their house, the Dursleys had me doing roof work, which Dudley helped me with. Combine that with sparring with him and doing other physical workouts, I got a good bit stronger physically. When we weren't doing that, we were watching muggle Anime, and playing Video Games, along with scouring my school books, among other books. We took every possible offensive and defensive idea of how to mix muggle things with Magic and come up with weapons to beat Voldemort."

"But…you couldn't use magic outside of school yet!"

"That's where the Runes came in."

"YOU! You're the one who stole my Rune book!"

"Yep, and it was the best idea I've ever had. That book allowed me and Dudley to come up with a crapload of ideas and ways to take muggle things and make them into effective weapons."

"I've heard enough of this. You may have gotten a bit stronger magically, but you're too incompetent to make something on the scale of what you speak."

"Hey Snape…ever wondered what it'd be like to be ripped apart molecule by molecule?"

"What are you saying Potter?!"

"KREACHER!"

A small Pop and the ugly house elf appeared, muttering. Harry stood, gently removing Tonks' head from his lap.

Everyone saw his AT Field snap into place, and then wrap around Kreacher, binding him in place. Harry's wand snapped out and he incanted.

"_Fieldo Hason!_"

A jet of black light slammed into Kreacher, and suddenly everyone saw a dome of blue-green energy surround him…and then shatter. Harry's bracelets began glowing.

"Good bye Kreacher."

The elf looked at him in fear as the bracelet summoned a cone of energy that looked like red tinted glass. From the ring itself came five extentions that looked like fan blades. The blades reached forward, and then fired arrow tipped strands of energy that slammed into the creature's midsection, elicting a scream of pain from it. The bracelet stopped glowing, and the cone and blades faded from sight as the Kreacher fell to his hands and knees. Suddenly a small sphere of light rose from his hand. He looked at it in fear, and screamed again as his body shattered into millions of tiny orbs.

"FINALLY!"

Everyone looked at Harry in shock. "I've been wanting to do that for weeks!"

He walked back over to Tonks, lifted her head, and lowered it back on his lap, resuming his healing.

"Wh-what did you just do?"

"Exactly what I told Snape. I ruptured Kreacher's very molecular structure, and it fragmented and then shattered, the molecules no longer able to hold together."

"You…can do that?"

"Now I can…apparently. Before it was only able to turn things into weaker things, or extract energy or objects from stuff. But then…well…this morning they changed."

"What do you mean…changed?"

"Well, originally the bracelets were Gold, like Dudleys. But this morning they'd turned red."

"You reached your magical majority last night Harry."

"My what?"

"A wizard's magical majority is like a power boost. Their body becomes strong enough to hold their full, or near their full power. You have always been very powerful, and now it seems to have doubled."

"Sweet. But it's not enough to beat Tom yet."

"That's true."

"So…why's everyone here already? I thought it'd take a few days to gather everyone."

"Look up mate."

He did so. A banner holding the words "Happy Birthday Harry" was at the top of the room.

"And I didn't notice that…how?"

"You didn't look up. You looked left, right, backward, in front of you, and even below you. But nothing came from above, so you never looked up."

"Dammit…I fell for the standard DBZ asswhupping trick…"

Hermione burst out laughing while everyone else looked at her quizzingly.

"Muggle thing."

"Right then…so how about we get this party started!"

I log onto my email this morning and find over 15 alerts. You people are nuts…oh well, after this don't expect another chapter for a bit. I've gotta focus on my other stories. But like I said, after I finish my other HP fic, then I'll come back to this one.

David Brown: Fenrir huh? Maybe…as strong as he is, he'd probably only still reach about 3/4ths that dude's strength, and that's PLUS magic boosting. He's more likely to send fuckloads of spells at the guy, shatter his protection, and hit him with the bracelet if anything.

FF-loverHP1: I don't know whether to be pleased or insulted. Pleased that you liked it, or insulted you thought it was gonna be crap. Eh, I guess I'll just stay neutral.

Dragen Ranger: If anything…it'll be Harry/Luna. Though, he'll probably flirt with a lot of girls, just to see their reactions. Might toss in Tonks, maybe not.

Wonder if my Mailbox is gonna be flooded again after this one…

Oh yeah. Almost forgot the Translations...

Hoshigami Requiemu: Star God's Requiem

Akumu Itamu: Painful Nightmare

Fukkyu Inochi: Restore Life

Fieldo Hason: Break Field.


	3. Lestrange

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter II: The REAL Lestrange**

**That Evening: Unknown Location…**

Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the most feared of the Dark Lord Voldemort's followers, was in a bit of a quandary. Not long after her cousin fell into the Veil of Shadows, she felt something in her begin to deteriorate. Of course that could have also been helped slightly by the weak Cruciatus curse Harry Potter used on her. She noticed her anger; her hatred…her blind loyalty to Voldemort…was fading. It was fading and that scared her shitless. She did some snooping, and found that her Arranged husband had placed a spell on her, one that was tied to the existence of Sirius. The spell would suppress her positive feelings, and enhance her negative, making it easy for her to be moderately controlled.

She never knew such a spell existed, let alone was used on her. While her actions were not truly her own, the emotions she felt when she performed the heinous acts she did were, if only drastically enhanced. The problem with this…is that she truly did not wish to serve the Dark Lord. While she agreed with a good many of his ideals, truthfully, she knew that such a world, one with only Wizards, and without any outside existence, would not last for long. She had done her research as a youngling, learning that Wizards as they are now are a great deal weaker than long ago. Albus Dumbledore, heralded as the strongest Mage in the world, next to her Master, would have been nothing but a mere fly to the wizards of old. For they could cast without such crutches as wands. Sure, their magic was wild, and difficult to control, but it made them far stronger, for when they DID master control, or as some did, learn to wield and live alongside, their magic, they were neigh unbeatable, only bested by those on their level, or somehow higher.

Whatever her husband did to her, it subverted those notions, the knowledge that as they are now, the Wizarding world was far weaker than it should have been, and forced her mind into becoming blindly obedient to a being that could no longer be called a man. She wanted a way out…and only one person could help her. She sat down in her quarters, beckoned over her raven, Noir, took out a blood quill, and began writing.

_**Harry Potter…**_

**Grimmauld Place, Morning: Living Room…**

"Wow…how long has he been at that?"

"About half an hour now."

Harry Potter had propped himself up against a wall, upside down, and was doing pushups. Last night, before going to bed, he thought up an idea that would allow him to continue training even at his Godfather's old home. He placed a Weight Rune on his left bicep, which doubled his own physical weight…but only to himself. It made it so his body would have to work twice as hard in order to increase his muscle strength.

_Man, these runes are the shit! I didn't even know a Weight Rune was possible!_

Currently, he had reached 100 pushups. He was aiming for 150. Sweat rolled down his forehead and hit the floor, his hair hanging down. Unknown to him he had a bit of an audience.

_122, 123, 124…I wonder what's for breakfast? 128, 129, 130…I sure hope Tonks doesn't try to kick my ass for yesterday. Even with my new abilities, she's a seasoned Auror…she'd probably find some way around it…145, 146, 147, 148, 149…150!_

The group, which consisted of Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Neville, Fred, George, Mrs. Weasely, Mr. Weasely, Tonks, Kingsley, Moody, and Dumbledore, watched as he suddenly stopped, placed his toes on the wall, lowered himself, and then hopped while kicking off the wall, and doing a front flip in mid-air and landing on his feet. Completely oblivious to the fact that he had visitors, he pulled off his undershirt, which was soaked with sweat. He raised his arms and two bottles of chilled water flew to him. He made one hover for a moment while he unscrewed the other, and then did the same with the second bottle. He took one and drained it completely in moments. He then took the other and tossed it into the air, pulling out his wand and casting a weak exploding hex on it. The bottle burst, and cold water rained down on him. He sighed loudly in content.

The younger girls were stunned. Here was their friend, who until earlier this summer was naught more than a stick…now he had a figure…and a DAMN good one. Watching him perform those feats of physical prowess made Hermione, Ginny and Luna subconsciously lick their lips, eyes glinting with a hidden hunger. If anyone had noticed the look on Luna, they'd have been vastly surprised, seeing as rarely did her eyes betray any emotion.

Suddenly, a black streak flew into the room. Everyone drew their wands as the black mass hovered in place in front of Harry. It was a raven. A rather beautiful looking one at that. His sight showed that the raven's aura was weak, meaning it was tired. He held out his right hand for the letter it was holding, and extended his left arm for the bird to land on. It did so gratefully.

They all watched as his AT Field slowly appeared, and then centered itself around the raven. The bird perked up as an unknown energy flew into it. It looked at Harry, as if asking a question.

"I have neither food nor water at the moment, so this will have to do. I see you must have flown a great distance to bring this to me. Rest on that stool for now; I'll get you some food."

The bird shook its head as if denying the boy's request. It spread its wings to show it wanted to leave, but nibbled his ear in thanks for his kindness. Harry nodded at the bird.

"Very well…"

He carried it to the nearest window and opened it. The bird flapped its wings experimentally, as if signaling it wished to be launched. Harry smiled held his arm out the window and flung the bird. It cawed in joy and took off.

He closed the window and smiled…then looked at the letter.

"Who's it from?"

"Doesn't say. Looks like I'll have to read it to find out."

"Harry my boy, how about you give me that letter, and I'll check it over for you."

"How about no."

They all blinked.

"But Harry, what if it holds some form of spell?"

"It doesn't. I checked already."

Moody wasn't pleased. "Bull. You were playing with the damn bird."

"Moody, tell me, what is it that allows you to see through enchantments?"

"My eye boy. You know that."

"Yes I do. Now tell me, if I did nothing with the letter other than look at it, and then claim that I checked it over already, what does that mean?"

Moody's eyes widened, and then he gave a gnarled smirk.

"Constant Vigilance eh boy?"

"You know it."

"Harry, dear, what are you talking about?"

"I have the ability to read Auras."

"Really? But that's so rare!"

"Yeah, but it's mine. After I came to terms with what was going on in my life, and finally got the ability to live a normal existence for a few weeks, I found I could read Auras."

"But how would that help check the letter mate?"

"Spells are magic, magic is energy. Auras are energy too. I can see if something has a spell on it. Not ALL the time of course, if someone were to anticipate something like what Moody and I can do, then I'm pretty sure there's a spell to mask other spells. I can't tell WHAT spell it would be yet though…just that there is one."

"And sometimes that's damn good enough boy!"

"Exactly."

"Well then mate, open it up! Maybe it's from a secret admirer!"

"Doubt that…any admirers I'd have would be all of the obvious type, Boy-Who-Lived, remember?"

"Right…"

Harry carefully opened the envelope. He read the letter silently…mouth dropping open, as his eyes widened. He finished and looked up, blinking rapidly. He walked over to one of the chairs, placed the letter on the table, and sat, a completely blank look in his eyes.

They all looked at one another, and always the nosy one, Hermione rushed in and grabbed it, reading aloud.

_**Harry Potter…**_

_**I doubt you know who this is, and even if you did, I severely doubt that you'd be expecting a letter from me of all people, Bellatrix Lestrange…murderer of your Godfather…Sirius Black…my cousin.**_

_**Oh bugger that's a horrible way to start a letter isn't it…listen Harry…I've found myself in a bit of a quandary at the moment. It would seem that my thrice accursed husband had placed a rather powerful and difficult spell upon me when I wasn't aware of things…most likely just after sex knowing his brain. The spell suppressed my positive thoughts and feelings, and greatly enhanced my negative ones. Not only that but he weaved it somehow, probably with Voldemort's help, to be linked to the life of my cousin Sirius. This was most likely done just before we departed Hogwarts for the last time.**_

_**The spell did a number of other things, such as subverting my common sense, and blocking my knowledge of certain things. You probably don't know this…but originally I WASN'T a supporter of Voldemort. Sure, raised by a Dark Pureblood family, I sympathized with some of his ideals, but I wasn't an idiot. Wizards as we are now are far weaker than we were centuries ago. Pureblood families are becoming inbred, and horribly weakened, and only the lives of muggles and half-bloods can keep us from falling in shambles. Sure, a pureblood society, one where only those who have had a history of magic is an interesting theory…but I know it would never work. We would eventually die out, and our culture, our very way of life would cease to exist.**_

_**My husband knew of my beliefs and my refusal to join Voldemort. Strong he may be, and his ideals may be valid, if misguided, but I was no fool, I had no desire joining a side destined to cause the end of society as we know it. I myself had a few muggle born friends, all of whom…I'm sorry to say…I was the end of. If I could give my life for Sirius to be alive I would in a heartbeat. He was my favorite cousin, though we quarreled frequently. He was a bit too trusting of Dumbledore for my personal tastes, but other than that, he had a good head on his shoulders…though he did tend to be a bit forgetful of where he was if he got caught up in something.**_

_**It's all that damn ministry's fault! Had that blasted Veil not been there…well…Sirius could still be alive! Probably not for much longer, but it would have been possible to rescue him dammit! I was supposed to cripple him or knock him out! Not kill the bloody prick! I mean dammit all! It may have given me my freedom of mind back, but I wouldn't have wanted him to die for it! For all I know someone could have developed a way to extract the spell from him so they could end it!**_

_**Ugh…I suddenly want to smash something. Voldemort told us all what your so called detentions were like…so I'm sure you can recognize what I'm writing with. Damned toad…I'd strangle her myself if it wouldn't blow my cover. Obviously I can't act against the Dark Lord's wishes unless I had some security I'd be safe…Sirius died because of me…and his death set me free from my chains…I'd rather not waste this chance thank you very much.**_

_**If you haven't burned this letter by now I'd be a tad bit shocked, but not too much. Snape is always talking of how incompetent you are…but though you were tricked, you managed to lead a group of teenagers into the heart of the Ministry of Magic, shatter the Prophecy Orb Voldemort was after, and hold us off until support arrived, which you all managed to leave from without a single casualty. That takes balls Potter. Big brass balls. And skill. Lots and lots of skill. Especially what you nearly did to me. Though a part of me is sincerely hoping you weren't listening when I told you how to do it right…though it may not matter, your soul…from seeing all those deaths…is probably very well tainted with darkness.**_

_**I'll offer you advice Harry…don't fight your darkness. Learn from it. Master it. Become one with it and your light. Light and Darkness may be mortal enemies, but when time calls for it, you'll never find a stronger team. Learn from your mistakes, learn from your failures, and learn from your successes. Darkness lies within all of us Harry Potter…your Godfather saved me from mine.**_

_**Well, with all that taken care of, time for the real reason I'm writing this…that and I'm starting to get dizzy.**_

_**I want your help Harry Potter. Not the Ministry, not Dumbledore, you. The ministry would send me to the Dementors without a second thought, just like they did Sirius. Dumbledore would most likely have me pull a Snape, and act as spy. No thanks. You…you could probably kill me on the spot, this I know. But…I have hope…hope that you'll listen, hope that you'll believe…in fact it's that hope that's keeping me from slipping back to my old state of mind. It would be so much easier to ignore what I know now…and go back to being the mindless killer that tortured the Longbottoms…but…I don't want to. I want to be myself again. I like being free, I like being able to think, I like being able to SEE! Help me Harry Potter…you are my only hope…and possibly the world's only hope.**_

_**Bellatrix Lestrange**_

_**P.S. As a token of good will, I will present you with this information. The Cruciatus curse not only tricks the mind into believing it's in pain, but also slightly ruptures the target's molecular structure. It's this that causes insanity…if there were some way to…reverse the molecular disruption…then those who were tortured to insanity by the Cruciatus curse…could be returned…**_

"Bloody Hell!"

"It's bull, all of it!"

"That crazy woman killed Sirius!"

Harry had been thinking to himself. _Molecular disruption…well…my bracelets could deal with that…but…do I really trust her advice? She WAS writing with…that…and only those who have sincere thoughts write ANYTHING in blood. Could there truly be a way? I don't know…but I know one thing…she was telling the truth. If it's a trap, I'll just use my AT Field. Voldemort wants to be the one who kills me, and wouldn't dare allow one of his followers to do it in his stead. Not to mention the runes I've come up with would help…I don't know how to contact her though…_

"What's that mark at the bottom of the page?"

Harry's head snapped up at that. _Mark?_

Dumbledore pulled out his wand, ready to tap it, when suddenly the paper was pulled out of his hands and flew to Harry.

Everyone looked at him.

"I've decided. I'm going to help her."

"WHAT?!"

The entire room erupted in shouts at him…all except Luna. She just stared.

Immediately his AT Field popped up, invisible, blocking out the sounds. Luna stared. Harry turned to Luna, and noticed she wasn't saying a word. Luna stared.

Harry's left arm, which was at his side, twitched. He made a small, barely noticeable gesture for Luna to approach. Luna walked over to him. He pulled his AT Field around the two of them.

"Why?"

The best question. Instead of yelling out accusations or commands, she simply asked why he made that choice.

"She gave me the key to curing Neville's family."

"Your bracelets?"

"Yes. She doesn't know, but these things can alter the very physical properties of things, down to a molecular level. If what she said was true, I'd be able to save them. If what she said was false…well…it's obvious the world at large has dismissed them…so they'd be actually better off."

"True…but it's not your choice is it?"

"No…it's Neville's. I'm not like Dumbledore, or Voldemort, or even the Ministry. If it concerns another person directly, I'd rather they consent."

"Why do you trust her?"

"She wrote all that with a Blood Quill. The mark at the end is probably how I'd contact her. It's made with her blood, so she probably enchanted it somehow."

"You can't see it?"

"No…she wrote the whole thing with blood…Wizard blood gives off a faint aura, so I wouldn't be able to tell if she did or not."

"Very well." She gave a dreamy smile, her empty gaze now holding a spark of admiration. "I will support you."

"Thanks Luna…you're a good friend…now…to shut them up…"

"Let me…"

He lowered his AT Field, the sound coming rushing at them. Luna pointed her wand to the side of the group, unnoticed by the others, and fired. A loud bang was heard, that startled the group, shutting them up. They looked at her.

"Sorry. I thought I saw a Higglewinking Muddlesucker."

"A what?!"

"A Higglewinking Muddlesucker. A small, bug looking creature that can slip into your body on contact and cause blood to shoot out of your butt hole for an hour straight."

She said all that with the same dreamy look on her face she always had. Harry had to fight severely in order to hide his laughter.

"Right…"

Harry sobered up quickly. "I've made my decision, and none of you is going to change my mind…however…"

He looked at Neville. "I won't act on her revelation without your consent. Unlike Dumbledore, Voldemort and the Ministry, I don't make decisions without checking up on the direct people they'd affect. If you wish to trust in me, and her words, then do so, if you do not, do so, either way, I will abide by your decision."

Neville was touched. Harry had the power, and truthfully the right, to act on what she said regardless…but he was right. Unlike the other major powers in the Wizarding World, he made sure that if it directly concerned another party, that he had their permission to proceed.

"I don't trust her…but I trust you. Do what you need to do Harry."

"You're sure? There's a chance that it could kill them if she's wrong…"

"I…I know that. But this is the closest thing we've had to a breakthrough…if it fails…its better off they be dead…than barely hanging on by a thread in a world that forgot them…"

Harry put his hand on Neville's shoulder. "Strong words from a strong man. I'll do my best."

"That's all anyone can ask isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"I will be in my room for a while. Don't bother trying to come in unless I let you, there'll be a ward on the door. I'm going to look over the letter again to make sure there are no hidden meanings in it."

He turned to leave, the others moving out of his way, when he stopped.

"By the way…Higglewinking Muddlesucker? Does that really exist?"

Luna just smiled. "I don't know…do you?"

Harry chuckled. "Touché…"

* * *

Damn you…damn all of you…making me get ideas for this when I should be getting ideas for my other fics! (shakes fist) I'm still surprised so many like it… 

Dragen Ranger: Actually, everyone expected Harry to plead for his friend's release, not go on the offensive and nearly kill the offender. She was going to duel him a bit, and then turn back into herself. Nobody expected THAT reaction.

Keri: Well…here it is. A lot sooner than it should have been.

M1lKy: I'm glad. Here's the next one.

Bandgsecurityaw: thanks.

The War General: This is a lot sooner than it should be…but here's the update.

Nenagh24: bowled over waaa! _Looks like you have a fangirl. _Well…there's a first time for everything. _We don't know what the Z is for either. _And it's just HP but with a few anime and videogame things tossed in, like the AT Field, the Bracelets, and a few runes and spells. Nothing major. _So how long is she gonna stay on top of you like that? _Damned if I know…

Thanks to all my reviewers…and curses to all my reviewers as well. I wasn't supposed to get ideas for this! Bah…now I feel like crap for not updating my other Harry Potter fic…DAMN WRITERS BLOCK!


	4. Experiment

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter III: Beauty and the Bracelet**

**The next evening…**

"Very well. I hereby pronounce this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix-

**SLAM**

The door to the living room flew open as Harry stormed in. No emotion was on his face as he muttered to himself. Everyone stared in surprise as he made his way over to Severus Snape. Harry's wand was out before anyone could move, and Snape was bound and gagged, his wand resting in Harry's empty palm. Some of the newer recruits drew their wands, but Harry just turned his gaze on them and said one word.

"Voldemort."

Everyone in the room flinched, save Dumbledore. Harry shook his head in disdain.

"Pathetic…"

He grabbed Snape's arm and pulled up his sleeve, exposing the Dark Mark for all to see.

"This thing needs a better name…"

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, he focused on his objective. He closed his eyes and channeled all of his dark thoughts, his anger, his hatred, his sorrow, his jealousy, and focused it into the scar on his forehead. From that scar came power, a feeling, a connection to the Dark Lord. He grasped that connection and placed his wand on Snape's arm. The mark flared a deep blood red as it seared into Severus. The gag muffled the tortured screams, people shouting at Harry to stop, asking him what he was doing.

Harry just stared.

A minute later, he let up his wand, released his emotions, and relaxed. He flicked his wand a couple times, and a notebook came zooming into the room. He slammed it on the table and yanked a quill out of one of the Order Member's hands.

"Oh…almost forgot."

He turned and flicked his wand again, the gag coming off of Snape, but the man was still bound.

Severus was groggy and dizzy from the pain. Suddenly he felt a sharp stinging feeling on his cheek. Harry had smacked him.

"Oi, Snape, how many fingers am I holding up?"

He held up his middle finger.

"P-potter!"

"Good, you're not dead."

He turned and started scribbling in his notebook.

"Looks like my theory was right…"

He closed the notebook and turned to leave. One of the newer recruits stopped him.

"Who the hell do you think you are-

Harry's wand blurred. In the blink of an eye, the man was unconscious and flying out of the window.

Harry made to leave again when the door closed in front of him.

"Harry…what did you just do?"

"Knocked him out, erased his memory, covered him in wine and sent him a few blocks away."

Everyone blinked.

"I mean to Severus."

"Oh, just an experiment."

Snape, who was still bound, started a tirade.

"How dare you! Just like your fath-AAAAAAHHH!!!"

Harry had pointed his wand at his own temple, right on his scar. The scar glowed a deep red, as did Snape's mark, and the man once again screamed in pain. After a half-minute, Harry stopped, a dead, empty look in his eyes.

"For your information Snape, it was an experiment to see if something my cousin said was true."

Dumbledore, slightly fearing what he may have to do, asked Harry gently.

"What did your cousin say Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Man you're dense. Whatever, I'll humor you this once old man, seeing as I did bust in on your meeting and all."

He walked away from the door.

"As many of you know, if not all of you, Voldemort is back, resurrected with the bone of his father, the flesh of a servant, and the blood of an enemy, my blood, to be exact. Because of that, Dudley speculated that since he now holds my blood, he would be able to pass through the wards on my relative's home. Also, we speculated that since we now shared blood, and as such, a closer mental connection because of it, I could access some more of his abilities, without having to repeat the events of my first birthday."

Molly Weasely, mother of Ron, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, and the Twins, was confused.

"What do you mean dear?"

"As you saw, I was able to trigger Snape's Mark, causing him a good deal of pain. Originally it would have only been possible by actually physically touching the mark with my wand…but…since Tom left his own mark on me, in the form of my scar, I figured I could use that as a medium, and obviously I was right. It takes a bit out of me, but it's worth it. With enough practice, I'll only need to focus, and I'll be able to activate it."

That made Snape, and a few of the other order members, gulp in fear.

"Just don't piss me off Snape…but…if it appeases your mind, not that I give a shite really, I didn't do it for some petty reason like revenge."

Moody stared at the youth.

"Then what DID you do it for boy?"

"Research. My sight allowed me to see exactly how the Mark was connected to Snape, and see exactly how it worked. The Dark Mark is a symbol, but it links to the recipient's magical core. When activated a certain way, it causes the magic in the person to become volatile, and chaotic, causing a great amount of pain for the holder. The Mark itself is infused with some of Tom's essence, not much, just enough to make a small link between him and whoever he marks."

"And what was this research for?"

"To see how to possibly remove the Dark Mark from pure enough souls."

That caused an uproar.

After a few minutes, Harry turned to leave, not having the patience to deal with this, but Dumbledore fired a spell that created a loud bang, shutting everyone up.

"Harry, my boy, are you saying you can remove the Dark Mark?"

"…I'll let your slip slide this time old man. But no, I'm not saying anything. I'm informing you that I have speculations, ideas, and possibilities. I'll have to go over my notes, and I'll need a test subject…however…since I need a test subject for two completely different things…that involve the same object…I know exactly who to pick."

"And who might that be?"

"None of your business old man…just get ready to have a house guest tomorrow. Now if you'll all excuse me, I have information to look over, and then I need sleep."

With that he turned and left.

Tonks looked at Dumbledore.

"Who do you think he was talking about sir?"

"I…have a guess…but it would be best if we wait till tomorrow to find out…"

**

* * *

Later that Night…unknown Location…**

Bellatrix Lestrange had been a bit testy all week. She had gotten no response from the Potter boy…not that she had given Noir a chance to get one. Fearing for her only link to sanity, she told the raven to leave as soon as possible, in case someone decided to blast it to bits, and send the remains to her in an envelope. She did take into account that she was thinking of "light wizards," however she knew emotions could cloud judgment…she knew that better than anyone. However, she had been feeling a small twinge in the back of her mind, one that meant someone was using the mark she placed on the parchment to summon her.

It was quite an ingenious creation. She imbued the mark with her blood, along with a small amount of her magical essence, and it would act as a beacon. With it, a specified person could tap the mark with their wand, and it would activate a sort of alarm in her mind. Once activated, all she had to do was focus on the feeling of being called, and she would be instantly whisked away to wherever. It was, however, a difficult task to ignore the feeling.

So it was a clouded mind that she stood in front of the Dark Lord. Of course, Voldemort was quick to notice his usually vibrant, if strange, follower was quite subdued and distracted.

"My dear Bella, are you well?"

"What? Oh, my apologies my lord. It's…that time of month for me is all."

In a move that surprised everyone present, Voldemort laughed. Not his usual evil "I'm going to kill everything" laugh, but a pure, genuine laugh…one that made him sound almost human…

Almost.

"Indeed my dear, take the rest of the night off. We wouldn't want a new recruit to set you off now would we?"

"Your insight goes forever unmatched my lord. With your blessing, I will take my leave."

"Do as you may my dear. And rest well."

"I shall my lord."

With that, she strode with purpose out of the chamber, and up the stairs to her quarters, where she sealed the door with countless locking and repelling spells. She sighed in relief. While it was true, in a sense, it was at its end. In fact it had ended yesterday, but the Dark Lord need not know that.

_Thank god for being a woman sometimes. Even the mighty Lord Voldemort fears the wrath of a female on her period._

Gathering her wand, and a shrunken spare set of clothing, just in case, she closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of being summoned. Moments later, with a small whooshing noise, she was gone.

**Grimmauld Place: Morning…**

The Hogwarts group had sat themselves at the kitchen table, waiting for breakfast, along with the last of their number.

"That's odd, normally Harry is up by now…"

"Ginny, dear, I told you, he had a lot of research to do last night, he's probably having a bit of a lie in."

"Perhaps his guest is keeping him."

"Guest?"

Everyone looked at Luna, who was sitting with a faraway look on her face…like usual.

"The guest he invited late last night. I would presume the two of them are getting ready."

"Um…Luna…nobody came in last night after the Order meeting."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive…the old bat behind the curtain would have been screeching her head off."

"And if the guest didn't use the door?"

"Impossible, Albus has warded this house himself. Nobody could get in without one of the Order members allowing them in."

It was then that Harry walked in. Behind him was a pale skinned girl with long black hair down to her waist, and the most powerful blue eyes anyone had ever seen. She was wearing one of Harry's old shirts and pants, her rather modest bust causing the shirt to look big on her. She had a look of immense nervousness on her beautiful face as she trailed behind him, one of her hands clutching his arm.

"Harry! Who-

In a move that surprised everyone, Luna stood and walked over to the girl. Their eyes locked as they stared each other down. Harry blinked, not expecting such a reaction from the blonde. Suddenly she spoke in an unusually serious voice.

"He has forgiven you. He will not forget however, nor shall I, or anyone else. You have a second chance now, for your actions, conscious or no, were your own."

The black haired girl nodded.

"I would assume the pain you felt was beyond any you've ever experienced, or inflicted before. Consider that your punishment, and this your chance to atone for what you have done. You will face much opposition…but as long as he walks with you, you will have my support as well as his."

The girl nodded again.

"Be forewarned however…others will not be so quick to accept you. Act only with His permission, or do not act at all. He is quite loyal to those he lets within his heart, and for some reason he has allowed you entry. Be true to him, and yourself, and you will be fine. Leave not his side for a while until people get used to you, for though they speak of allying with light, this war, and the Dark Lord's return has created much darkness within the hearts of many. Stay with him, and you will be fine."

Luna stepped closer to the slightly taller girl, leaned in and whispered.

"_If by some chance you develop feelings for him…well…I'm not object to sharing."_

The black haired girl suddenly blushed fiercely, mentally cursing her returning wild hormones, and lack of control. She gave a stiff nod to the blonde, and Luna returned to her seat, the dreamy look sliding back on her face.

Harry's respect for the Lovegood girl grew. She somehow knew who the new arrival was, and was willing to accept Harry's judgment on dealing with her. The girl was obviously wiser beyond her years…_But what was that last thing she said? Why'd it make her blush like that?_

"H-Harry…who is that?"

"You'll find out, for now, just call her Bea, ok?"

"If you say so…"

"Wait…THAT'S Harry's late night Guest?"

Luna nodded. Harry turned to her.

"How did you know?"

"You're not the only special one around here Harold."

Hermione was confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"My Sight."

"You mean your Aura Reading ability?

"Yeah…so Luna, what's yours?"

"Magical Sense."

"Hmm…that one's a bit more common."

"True, but mine is stronger than most. I knew the moment she arrived because a signature I've only encountered once before suddenly appeared within my range."

"And what's your range?"

"Suppressed, about the size of this room. Normally, this room and the living room, if I focus…maybe about half the size of the house."

"Impressive. People or objects?"

"Both…sometimes. It's mostly just people, but occasionally, if someone places enough magic into an object, I can feel it…"

Always gathering information, Hermione broke in. "What do you mean?"

Luna's gaze rested on Ginny for a moment, and surprisingly, Bea answered.

"You mean…Tom Riddle's Diary…"

Everyone stared at her. She blushed and ducked her head.

"How do you…"

"Later. Luna, you knew about the Diary?"

"Yes…and no. Yes, I knew that something was wrong with Ginny…but no, I didn't know about the Diary. We didn't really become friends until the end of first year…and I didn't know what I was sensing until the middle of Second Year…when I stumbled across a book on magical abilities."

Neville spoke.

"So how were you able to tell who she is?"

"I've felt her before…I won't say where though, that's their story."

While the teens were talking, Mrs. Weasely placed the food on the table for them. They all ate in silence.

Not moments after the last plate was cleared, the fireplace roared green, and Dumbledore hopped out.

"Good Morning Albus. We've still got some breakfast left if you want some?"

His gaze swept over the room…when it locked on a girl he'd seen once before. He paled slightly.

"Headmaster. I would like for you to summon as many key Order members you can. It's rather important."

"I see…very well, if you'll excuse me, I shall do just that."

Bea looked at Harry. "Order members? You mean the Order of the Phoenix? This is their Headquarters?"

Everyone but Harry's eyes widened. "In a sense yeah."

"Huh…we expected it to be Hogwarts or something…"

"You'd think that wouldn't you? With Dumbledore being the leader and all."

"Umm…do you mind if we go back to your room? I'm still a bit groggy…"

"No problem."

Harry stood and held out his hand. Bea raised her left arm and took it, but as she did so, the sleeve pulled back slightly, showing a black tattoo that the others caught. Their shock silenced them.

"We'll be back when the others get here. Come on Bea."

She bowed to Mrs. Weasely before leaving. "Thank you for the food."

The two left.

"D-did you see that?"

"She has…the dark mark!"

"We HAVE to tell Dumbledore!"

Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Neville got up as one to leave, Mrs. Weasely doing the same, when suddenly the door slammed shut. They all whirled around to see Luna, a stern look on her face, wand pointed at the door.

"You will do no such thing. All will be explained soon. Harry knows of her mark, who she is, and where her loyalty lies. Your questions and concerns will be answered in time. Until then, none of you are to mention this to ANYONE. Understand?"

Even Mrs. Weasely was surprised at the harsh tone of her words. They all nodded as one, believing the girl to possibly be unstable, and not wanting to do anything that might set her off. She got up and strode past them.

"I will be waiting for everyone in the living room. I suggest you all do the same."

With that, she turned on her heel and practically glided out of the room.

"Bloody Hell…"

"MUM!"

* * *

Cliffhanger! Well…not much of one. Anyone with a brain knows who Bea is, but do you know HOW she came to be?

The War General: Glad you liked it.

M1lKy: who knows…your wish might come true…this chapter DOES hint at a possible relationship with someone other than JUST Luna…

Katarvilla: is your name from Star Wars? Anyway, glad you like it. Hermione doesn't really strike me as the type to watch anime much…but she DOES strike me as the type to keep an eye out for any form of information…and anime DOES have potential in the Wizarding world…

Bandgsecurityaw: thanks.

Dragen Ranger: Maybe a harem, maybe not. If anything it'll probably be limited to two-three girls…but who knows…

I hope the chapter gave just enough information, and had enough mystery to keep you guys wanting more! I'll have the next one up soon, though it might not be as long…Useless Who's Line Is it Anyway? Style points to anyone who guesses who Bea is…and HOW she came to be!


	5. Meeting

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter IV: Meeting**

**Afternoon: Grimmauld Place…**

Remus Lupin, ex-teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts, best friend of James and Lilly Potter, Partner in Crime to Sirius Black, Werewolf, and overall good person, arrived at Grimmauld Place on the summons from one Albus Dumbledore. The old wizard gave no other reason than "there will be a meeting tonight…and it is imperative you come."

Of course, whenever the old man was being cryptic like that, it generally involved Harry Potter.

It was with that knowledge in mind that he appeared in the fireplace at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He arrived to the gazes of a small few of his former students.

"Professor Lupin!"

"Hello Hermione, Everyone." He looked around the room puzzled. "Err…where's Harry?"

"Probably in his room upstairs…he only came down once for breakfast…and we haven't seen him since."

"I'll just go check on him then shall I?" He turned to leave.

"Umm…"

"Is something wrong Hermione?"

Suddenly sensing a powerful glare being sent her way, Hermione took a quick glance out of the corner of her eye and saw Luna staring at her from behind her upside-down book. Hermione gulped and looked back at Lupin.

"No…nothing."

Utterly confused, the man simply nodded and proceeded up the stairs. Walking to the door with Harry's name on it, he paused, his heightened senses picking up something unusual. There was another scent in the air mixed with Harry's.

Further confused, he knocked on the door.

A few moments passed and then the door opened slightly. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

Standing in front of him was a teenage girl, wearing naught but a black jacket over a fishnet shirt, which was doing nothing to hide the black bra she wore, a very short skirt, and a pair of black Dragon hide combat boots. Two long black locks framed her pale face, and bright blue eyes stared at him. He saw the turmoil in her eyes, confused by it.

* * *

Bea and Harry had spent the last few hours training his mind, and other things. She would attack his mind, and he would defend to the best of his ability. At first, she would easily slip through his mental shields, which were horribly weak. But after a few pointers, and a few curses were exchanged, she went at it again…and promptly fell flat on her ass. 

Harry had held her in his mind, battling her fiercely…the two of them in his mind taking their forms as they were in reality…but what knocked her for a loop, was how he swiftly kicked her ass all around his mindscape. For within his mind, the two of them were actually fighting…well…more like he would be attacking, and she'd be hard pressed to defend. Through that, they found a method for him. If his shields were ever attacked, and he couldn't repel the attacker, he would pull them into his mind, put the shields back up to cage them, and then beat the living shit out of them.

Not a single spell, or rune was used for him to attain this ability.

When questioned about how he came up with the idea, he responded:

"_I just thought, what if I could turn the energy into reality? The attack takes place in my mind, and I am the ruler of my own head. So I thought that I could make it instead of magic attacking mind to form a link, I would grasp onto the magic, pull the other mind in, fight them till they get weak, and then kick them out. Didn't think it'd actually work though…"_

She was shocked. Nobody in Wizarding History had ever thought of such a possibility. _Well…Harry keeps surprising me…_

When questioned of why he would kick her ass so fiercely, she only got one response.

Payback.

That's all she needed to hear before she understood. He still hadn't fully forgiven her, and she was alright with that. He knew they were on the same side now.

She then started training him on his ability to focus…in the most unorthodox way possible. First she had him close his eyes and levitate a conjured jar in front of him. Easily done. Then, she grabbed his free hand and put it on one of her breasts. He frowned.

"Err…what am I holding."

"My boob."

CRASH

The jar fell and shattered. She laughed and shook her head, bopping him over the head with her wand.

"No distractions!"

She waved her wand and the jar repaired itself.

"Again!"

He blushed and closed his eyes again. This time she would constantly slide her hands all over his body, whisper very naughty things in his ears, and generally taunt the living hell out of him.

Why?

"If you can ignore a beautiful woman in front of you, you can block out roughly anything. Everyone knows, one of a man's greatest weaknesses, is his libido. If you can block that weakness, you've effectively shut off one of the easiest ways to attack a man."

It was harder than he made it seem.

She decided to stop, and simply told him that she was going to change. Right in front of him. His eyes would have to stay closed, for she'd know if he peeked at her. The jar would also have to stay in the air.

Why?

"If you can block out the thought of me naked in front of you, then you can concentrate on practically anything you want, with virtually no chance of being distracted."

The reason for this tactic was because if he lost concentration, meaning if his mind wandered to her, then the jar would fall, or he'd open his eyes to take a peek.

Surprisingly, neither happened…though she did sense a spike of anger within him all of a sudden...and when that happened, the jar shattered…but this time inward, as if it imploded.

She had finished getting dressed, and was slightly worried.

"Harry? What happened?"

"Thought of something I shouldn't have."

She looked at him. At first she thought that he was angry with himself for thinking of her nude…something that slightly hurt to think of…but then it hit her. With Harry, there's always someone trying to attack him in some way. His friends are both his greatest weakness, and his most valuable strength…he must have considered her a friend…and must have unconsciously envisioned something horrible happening to her.

Tears came to her eyes as her once cold heart was warmed by the thought of another genuinely caring for her, despite her past. She wrapped him in a hug, no words were spoken.

After a few minutes of just holding one another, the severity of what he just did hit her.

_He just crushed something…with his MIND!_

"Harry…you realize what you just did right?"

"Yeah, I screwed up…"

"No Harry…you went a step further!"

"Huh?"

"You crushed that jar with your Mind Harry!"

"You mean…"

"Yes! The energy field I put around it that you manipulated…you made it collapse! Imagine the damage you could do to the Death Eaters if you could do that on command!"

The look of awe came to his face.

"Alright Potter, you've got a new mission, MASTER that power!"

He smiled.

Not five minutes after beginning his attempts to crush stuff with his AT Field, something that was proving quite therapeutic, someone knocked on the door.

Bea rose and opened the door slightly…and froze. In front of her was Remus Lupin…a man who would be able to tell who she is VERY easily. Not only that…but the last time he saw her…his friend died.

She gathered her courage and spoke…

* * *

"Can I help you?" 

"Uhh…is…Harry there?"

"He's…occupied at the moment. Can I ask who wants him?"

"Remus Lupin…a friend of his father's…and you are?"

"Beatrice…a friend. He's busy at the moment…I assume you are in the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Y-yes, how did-

"When the meeting starts…your questions will be answered. Until then, please wait."

"I want to see him."

Harry's voice rang out. "Moony I'm alright. I'll talk to you later I'm doing something important at the moment!"

"Ok Harry…I'll be downstairs…"

"I'll see you at the meeting."

Lupin turned away…but turned his head and sniffed.

"You…seem familiar…have we met?"

"Maybe…you'll see soon enough."

He nodded and walked away.

The door closed and dropped to her knees.

"My gods I thought he was going to figure it out…"

"He probably did…but didn't believe it. People do that."

"I know Harry…but…"

"Enough…didn't you say you had something to show me?"

She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yes…"

She stood, shuddered a bit as she calmed her nerves…and began to shift.

She changed into a sleek black panther.

"You're an animagus?!"

The panther nodded.

"Bloody Awesome! We gotta come up with a name for you…"

The panther blinked. He walked over and started petting it. Its fur was soft and…

"Velvet!"

She looked up.

"Your name is Velvet!"

She shifted back.

"It works…"

"You don't like it?"

"No…I mean yes…I mean…its fine Harry. Velvet is fine."

Harry smiled again.

"Now, get back to work mister!"

He nodded and went back to practicing.

_Velvet…was my cat's name when I was a child…_

**

* * *

**

(Play Final Fantasy VIII: SeeD)

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. Apparently, something has developed that requires you all to know immediately…Harry?"

Harry strode forward, looking completely different. He wore a dark green combat vest over a black shirt with an odd symbol on it. The symbol consisted of a circle made from two snakes biting each other's tails on the chest of a firebird. Within the circle was a sideways eight, the symbol for infinity, with a lightning bolt straight through the center. Black multi-pocketed pants and a pair of Dragon hide boots completed the outfit. Of course his bracelets were being worn as well.

The whole group gasped in amazement. Luna gave a dreamy smile, and some of the females looked at him with hunger in their eyes. Harry began his speech.

"As the majority of you already know, last night I conducted a small experiment on Severus Snape, as per my research in attempting to find the key to the inner workings of the Dark Mark. The experiment was a success, and my findings were that I could activate the pain effects of the Mark through my own, the Scar on my forehead."

Nods and mumbles of agreement were made.

"What most of you don't know is that three days ago, one Bellatrix Lestrange, member of Voldemort's Inner Circle contacted me through blood written letter, the blood being her own, and requested my asylum from the Dark Lord in exchange for her teaching me certain things about him, weaknesses, strengths, hell even his sleeping patterns and mindsets."

Shock shot through the majority of the Order.

"What even fewer know is that I accepted."

That caused a small eruption. Surprisingly Harry gave a dark smirk. He raised his hand, palm pointing at the jug of water on the table. His hand was limp, almost lazy. Suddenly it snapped open and the jug shuddered. Most didn't notice. Bea smirked as well, ready to see the reaction to this new development.

Harry clenched his fist instantly, and a small pulse of energy emanated from his fist. The energy was like a sound wave, it was invisible, making only the slightest ripple around his fist as it sent out its instructions. The air around the jug solidified, and then collapsed inwards, causing the jug to violently implode, making a loud shattering noise that immediately shut everyone up. The wide splash of water helped too.

"Can I finish?"

Shocked nods all around.

"Thank you. As I was saying, I accepted…but required a token of good faith. She was to be my test subject."

"Test subject for what boy?"

"Good question Moody. Bellatrix had given me an idea. She told me the inner workings of the Cruciatus Curse, and exactly how it effected the target. As you know, she and her husband tortured Alice and Frank Longbottom, to insanity. To this day, nobody has been able to think up a cure for it, deeming them unable to be saved…however she gave me the exact opposite opinion. She said in almost exact wording: 'The Cruciatus Curse uses molecular destabilization to inflict massive amounts of pain upon the target. If someone could figure out how to reverse that, the Longbottoms could be saved.'"

Murmurs of shock.

"Stop wasting our time, get to the point Potter."

"Patience Snape, wouldn't want that mark to flare up again now would we?"

Snape glared at Harry, but said nothing.

"Anyway, what Bellatrix didn't know, is that I DO have a way to tamper with the molecular structure of objects."

"And that would be…"

"These." He held up his wrists, and the bracelets glowed.

"Bracelets?"

"I won't get into it now, ask Dumbledore or something, but let's just say these things can affect the very base root of all existence, one's molecular structure. But…I'd only used it on inanimate objects before…and I wasn't about to attempt an untested theory on a friend's Parents, regardless of the chances."

"Makes sense."

"It does doesn't it? So I opted for a test subject."

"Lestrange."

"That's right Moony. What's better…is it worked."

He stepped over to the black haired girl, who had suddenly gone very nervous.

"Everyone…meet Beatrice Black..."

Everyone stared…Hermione, Lupin, and Dumbledore piecing together the Puzzle.

"Also known…as Bellatrix Lestrange."

To this day, nobody knows who fired the first spell, but within moments, the air within the room was alight with magical energy all streaking towards Beatrice. She let out a small scream of fear, and closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, holding her close.

The spells all impacted a glowing dome of transparent grey energy. Eventually, realizing the dome wasn't going to break, the spells stopped. The dome pulsed. Harry turned from Beatrice, and glared, his eyes flashing a demonic red.

"Reverse Aura."

The dome pulsed again, and multiple lights appeared surrounding it. Suddenly, they all shot out of the dome streaking like bullets slamming into their own casters. Everyone who fired a spell, was now under their own spells effects. Some were slammed into walls, some were knocked unconscious, and still others were screaming in pain. Luckily for the younger attendees, Luna and Hermione had smashed their fists into the skulls of Ron and Neville, just as they were about to launch attacks. Ginny did nothing, for once, a pensive look on her face. Molly Weasely was one of the many knocked unconscious…and the Twins were now sporting extra arms out of their heads.

It was chaos.

And Harry was enjoying every moment of it. He turned to Beatrice, who was crying silently.

"Hey, it's alright…nobody's going to hurt you." He placed both hands on her cheeks and wiped her tears with his thumbs. "You'll be ok."

"But…what if…what if they banish you?"

"Then they'd just basically be committing cultural suicide. They need me to kill Voldemort. If they banished me for giving you a second chance to live the RIGHT life, then I'll just wait till they all died, then took the bastard out."

"You'd…go that far?"

"You've proven yourself to be a worthy friend my dear Velvet. Anyone who attacks my friends deals with me."

She looked in his eyes, seeing nothing but honesty. Tears spilled from her eyes yet again as she hugged him tightly. "Thank you Harry…you really are a saint…"

"Pfft, not bloody likely."

She giggled, despite her tears.

Harry looked up.

"So…are you all done acting like idiots? Or do I actually have to try?"

"Harry Potter what did you do?!"

"Oh shut the fuck up Dumbledore! It's their own damn fault for attacking her! Your little 'Order' is no better than a bunch of fucking Death Eaters! Attacking blindly without even processing ANYTHING that was said beforehand! She went through pain beyond even the Cruciatus in order to test my theory! Sure, she got placed back in a younger body, but the pain she had to go through…"

The heat in Dumbledore's eyes subsided. The man was a stickler for second chances…and Harry Potter managed to turn one of the Dark Lord's greatest assets, to one of their strongest weapons…

"Then why the bloody hell does she still have the Dark Mark?!"

They both blinked. "Dark Mark?"

She looked at her left arm…and rolled up her sleeve.

She smirked as the dark mark wasn't there.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"THAT! The Thing on your arm!"

Snape recovered to insult Ron.

"Weasely I swear you get stupider with each passing day. THIS is the dark mark!"

He exposed his arm for the room to see, a black skull with a snake coming out of the mouth.

"The pictorial monstrosity that binds all Death Eaters…what SHE has is not the Dark Mark."

"That's right. Her Dark Mark changed when her body did. We don't know what it is…but it looks bloody freakin cool."

Indeed it did. The mark on her arm was a smaller version of the strange emblem on Harry's shirt.

As they were discussing this, the order members recovered.

"Now…the bracelets-

Harry froze. His eyes flickered red, his bracelets glowed…and he saw a vision.

_**Dudley grabbed his parents.**_

"_**Come on you two! We have to get out of here!"**_

_**The Dursleys ran out of their front door, only to watch as blazes of light slammed into the house, collapsing the roof on it. They were surrounded by people in black.**_

**Harry…I hope this works…**

_**Dudley raised his right arm to the heavens. The ring on his wrist began glowing gold. The ring fired a beam into the air, and the beam split into multiple beams that slammed into the black figures. The figures writhed in pain.**_

_**Dudley dropped to the ground, panting. **_**Damn…it wasn't enough…**

_**The Death Eaters surrounded them. **_**Harry…I'm sorry…**

The vision ended.

"Dudley…"

Harry turned and ripped the door open.

"Harry! What-

"GET TO PRIVET DRIVE!"

He didn't know what he was doing, all he knew is he had to get to Dudley…and something told him to get outside. Everyone chased after him. He ran out of the door…and then vanished in a ripple of air…

"Harry!"

Bea took charge.

"You heard him! Get to Privet Drive now!"

She vanished with a loud crack.

The majority of the Order did the same. Luna looked into the sky.

_It starts…_

* * *

Tired as hell right now…barely awake. Lots of stuff going on in this one…and in the next one…Harry takes on some D.E.s 

Fussbudget: Screw the books I have fanfiction!

Thunder Demon: Glad you like it. Keep reading, it gets better.

Dragen Ranger: As I said, harem may or may not happen…the story writes itself y'know. But Luna and Bea are definitely going after Harry….

SwiftShadow: This soon enough?

The War General: Hope this is fast enough for you!

Hemotem: you're quite welcome.

Nenagh24: It's called life. It strikes you without notice, and when you finally get away from it, you find that many things have happened while you weren't paying attention…

M1lKy: dont worry about it ne? site's probably messed up a bit.


	6. Awaken

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter V: Awakening**

"DUDLEY!!"

(Play Kingdom Hearts Complete: Riku)

He was too late. He arrived just in time to see the Dark Lord himself, Voldemort, cast the Killing Curse. He could do nothing but stare helplessly as the green light of death struck his cousin directly in the chest. The large boy fell backward, a smirk on his face. The new power that Harry had unlocked, the nearly instantaneous movement that passed through Anti-Apparition wards, activated, carrying its wielder to his cousin's side.

In a surprising gesture, Voldemort forcibly told his Death Eaters to stand down.

"You would be proud of him Harry Potter. The blasted boy stood his ground against me, and even managed to fell a few of my own."

Tears were running down Harry's face. A multitude of cracks were heard as Bea, and the Order arrived on the other side. The Death Eaters stood on the side leading to the Ex-Dursley's house. The Order appeared opposite of them, just outside the Anti-Apparition wards.

_Dudley…I'm so sorry…_

"Yeah…he was an ass like that."

"Indeed. But now…perhaps you see the futility of standing against me Harry Potter."

_Futility…is it really pointless to fight? No…it's never pointless to fight for what you believe in…_

Harry's hands cupped Dudley's arm, the arm holding the bracelet. He was on his knees, crying silently.

"All those who stand by you will die as long as you fight against me. I have proven such. First your Parents, then that Diggory boy, then your Godfather Sirius Black, and finally, your last remaining relatives. Do you see now Harry Potter? You are the cause of their deaths."

He shook his head.

"No…"

"Yes…face it Harry Potter…as long as you live, nay, as long as you fight me, everyone you care for will die."

"That is true. But only half."

"Explain yourself!"

"Even if they hadn't known me, you'd have killed them. And if not you, then time itself. Death is eternal, Death is mandatory. Death is the answer to life. The world beyond Humans know this Voldemort…why don't you accept that?"

"You know not what you speak!"

"I know exactly what I speak. The realm of Animals have accepted the presence of Death. They sense it, they feel it…and they accept it. Humans cannot. We fight Death, we cheat it, we find ways to avoid it, because we fear it. We fear it because we do not understand it, and not only that, but we refuse to accept that we fear Death."

Nobody had anything to say to that. Slowly…unknown to anyone, not even himself, the darkness in Harry Potter's heart, began fusing with the light.

"My cousin died tonight to protect his family, to hold you off, and to prove that though he is a Muggle, he is in ways, equally as strong as a wizard. He failed to save his family…but he succeeded in stalling you, succeeded in proving that he was Equal to the Dark Lord himself. For that, he accepted his death, he knew that he could have run, but he refused, he stood and faced death, accepted it, and you killed him…"

Again, unknown to anyone, Animals, all around the globe perked their heads up as their natural sense for power picked up on something that the planet at large hasn't seen for centuries.

_I understand now. I wont fight because of some stupid prophecy…I fight because I choose to, I fight to protect my way of life, to ensure the survival of my loved ones. Please…Dudley…Cedric…Mum…Dad…give me strength…_

The bracelet around Dudley's wrist glowed faintly, and then vanished.

"That was a wonderful speech Harry Potter. However I give you the choice I gave you since the beginning. Join me…and we can prevent the Deaths of any more of those you care about."

He rose.

"I'm sorry Voldemort…but I must refuse."

He felt it. Something happening to him. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it just was. Something within him was beginning to awaken.

"Then Harry Potter…you must Die!"

Two words later, a bright green light shot for Harry.

"No."

(Play Devil May Cry 3: Vergil Battle 1)

The green light flew towards him, but moments before it impacted his body, a shell of silver light snapped into place. The killing curse dissipated.

"WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?"

"No trickery…It's simply time I started doing what I want…rather than what the world wants. And right now…I want to show you…"

He turned around. Everyone gasped, even Voldemort. The lightning bolt scar on the middle of his forehead turned a deep black. Tendrils of darkness raced across Harry Potter's face taking the shape of odd markings. Two slash marks appeared vertically down his eye-lids. His eyes turned a deep blood red.

"…I want to show you…what it's like…to be utterly helpless."

All over the world, Animals raised their heads and made whatever noises they could. Lupines howled, Felines mewled, Birds chirped…it was as if the entire animal Kingdom was heralding in the arrival of some form of Deity.

Harry's body glowed. Suddenly there was a bright flash and a LOUD booming sound.

When the light cleared, there was naught more than a crater around Harry Potter, who was somehow floating above it, glowing slightly.

For the first time since being reborn…Voldemort gulped in fear.

The Death Eaters all fired spells at the last remaining Potter. He floated there, a bright silver orb of energy surrounding him, absorbing all of the attacks.

He raised his arm and a pillar of flame shot from the ground into the sky, incinerating three of the Black Robed Imbiciles.

"You have taken my family, now I shall take yours."

He swung his left arm and a wave of crushing force washed over another small group of Death Eaters. Their bones shattered, their brains turning to mush from the pressure. Some of them ran to the side, firing in attempts to break through his AT Field…but it was charged with something beyond Harry's power. His bracelets glowed, and two small orbs of silver light appeared in his hands. He twirled and then launched them at the rest of the Death Eaters. The robed fools dodged the orbs, only to scream in pain and shock as they expanded suddenly, engulfing them in their fury.

"You have taken the lives of many of my allies…now I have taken yours."

Black lightning crackled around his body as the glow around him grew stronger.

"And now…I show you…what happens when you flee from Death."

He vanished in a ripple of air. Voldemort tried to spot him, but was suddenly blinded by a fist appearing in his face. The Dark Lord recovered mid-air, and began chaining spells, ranging from Death to Destruction, in an attempt to stop the rampaging boy.

Harry saw the glowing lights heading for him as if they were in slow motion. _I don't know what's going on…but I know that I wont be able to defeat him now…even with this power…all I can do…is scare him…_

He used the barrier to deflect everything that wasn't green, and dodged what was. _I don't know if I can block the Avada again. It may have just been luck the first time…and even if I can…I want him thinking it was luck…_

He raised his right arm, and the bracelet around it glowed. A small vortex of black and white energy appeared in front of his palm, and immediately as it came, it fired jagged bolts of black and white energy. The bolts slammed into Voldemort, piercing through him and then faded.

_What was THAT?! What Power is it that the Potter Boy has tapped into?!_

Harry raced forward, and then leapt as Voldemort fired another killing curse. He quickly drew his wand and traced a small rune in front of him. He then fired a blasting hex into the rune. The rune glowed a fierce red, and then fired multiple small orbs of energy at Voldemort. The Dark Lord placed a shield around him, only to struggle to keep it up.

_Amazing…Simply Amazing…the boy managed to create something that widened the range of the Spell…but without diminishing its power!_

Harry felt it. The barrier around the area they were fighting was slowly fading. Soon the Anti-Apparition Wards would be gone, and Voldemort would be able to escape.

_I know I wont be able to get him before then…so I'll simply stall for time._

He called up the silver orbs again, twirled and fired. Voldemort had seen what that particular attack could do, and he managed to dodge accordingly, firing a Killing Curse in between the orbs.

_Damn!_

Harry vanished in the distortion of air again, just before it made contact with him. He re-appeared to Voldemort's left, raining down random spells from his wand ranging from Blasters, to Stunners, and even Tripping Hexes.

Voldemort chuckled and called up another shield.

_Is it just me…or does it look like snake face is having FUN?_

Harry twirled his wand. Voldemort pulled back his. Both launched a spell at the same time. The two spells connected, and again the thread of light appeared. The two of them focused their wills against one another. The bead of light went back and forth, from one wand to the other, never touching the tip. After roughly a minute of struggling, both wrenched the connection asunder, Voldemort by yanking his wand to the right, while Harry pulled to the left and spun slightly. The two of them panted, seeing as the wands were drawing not just from each other's magical cores, but also from their minds.

Suddenly, the wards faded.

"Well, it looks like we've run out of time Boy."

"It would seem that way."

"Very well…mark my words boy and mark them well! I WILL kill you Harry Potter."

"So you say…we've yet to see however."

"Indeed."

And with that, the Dark Lord vanished in a loud crack.

The glow around Harry faded as he lowered to the ground.

"HARRY!"

Beatrice ran up to him and pulled him in a hug, crying.

"I was so scared! I thought he was going to kill you!"

"Nothing to worry about Velvet…just having a bit of fun."

"Fun? FUN?! You call battling the Second most Powerful Wizard in the World to the Death FUN?!"

"Well…yeah. It actually was. I mean, it still has to really sink in that Dudley's gone y'know? But…to be able to test myself so powerfully against Voldemort…it was actually kinda fun…"

"You're bloody fucking insane you know that right?"

"We all are Velvet…we all are."

The smile vanished from his face when Dumbledore walked up to them. Harry rose, wobbling slightly. Beatrice put her arm around him to steady him.

"Mister Potter…Might I ask what just transpired here?"

"Oh the usual. Voldemort killing someone, me fighting him…nothing really new."

"I dare say that Crater proves you wrong my boy."

"That? Oh that's just an illusion."

He waved his wand tiredly, and the crater vanished, revealing that there was perfectly unharmed ground where it once was.

"My word…an illusion that even the Dark Lord couldn't see through?"

"Yeah. Look, I'm exhausted. How about we head back, I pop my memory into your little bowl, and I get some sleep."

"Very well. Let us return then."

What Dumbledore didn't know…was that the next week…was going to be hell for the residents of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place…

Harry had changed…and the full extent of that change…was soon to be revealed…

* * *

Yes, I killed Dudley. Yes, there was a reason behind it. No I wont tell you right now.

SwiftShadow: I'm only fast when I've got inspiration. If nothings coming to mind, I take FOREVER. Glad you liked it though.

Elleminnowpee: Interesting name there. Alphabet much? As for your question, Bea's cat was named Velvet. I have a cat…but his name is Takato. Hope you enjoy the asswhupping!

M1lKy: Unfortunately he's not…but his death was not in vain. There's a reason behind it.

Bandgsecurityaw: thanks.

Hemotem: sorry…Dudders got offed…buuuut…the story's not over…nor is His…

TheWarGeneral: Soon enough?

Dragen Ranger: What is starting? Well…a lot of stuff…but you'll see…

Nenagh24: FOOD! Man I haven't eaten all day! Thanks! Yeah, life sucks…takes too much time from you. Glad you like the Emblem…it was…interesting to come up with.

Taeniaea: Thanks times five!

Aires Drake: Yes yes, damn me. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Unfortunately for myself, this one didn't seem to flow as well as the last one…oh well, the aftermath is what matters actually. THOSE chapters will be similar to the one before this one. This one…I don't think I did as well as I could have…

Well, next chapter starts the Hogwarts Arc. Diagon Alley, emotionally unstable Harry…and someone's left arm's bones get shattered! Try to guess who it is? Here's a Hint: They're Overbearing when it comes to Harry!


	7. Someone Special

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter VI: Special**

(Play Kingdom Hearts: End of the World)

The next few days were hell for the residents of Grimmauld Place.

It had finally sunk in what went on that night, and Harry was quite emotional. But not his usual…this time…it was worse. Instead of blind rage, there was calm. In the place of loud yells, there were soft spoken, but hard edged words.

Harry Potter had become cold. Not only that…but he became a danger to nearly everyone around him.

It started the second day after the battle. Harry had taken to reading wherever he felt most comfortable, be it the kitchen, be it the living room, the library, or his room. He would sit, read, and do little else. Various books on many different subjects, runes, potions, charms, Defense, even Dark Arts books, were scattered throughout the manor.

It was Ron who became the first example. His mistake was a simple one. He touched Harry at a bad time. It was a small gesture; the boy was tuning out the world for a few hours straight, and looked as if he'd not gotten any sleep. Ron placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, and was immediately blasted backwards when Harry's AT Field shot into place. Other than a lump at the back of his head, where he impacted the wall, Ron was fine.

His was one of the better injuries.

The next victim of Harry's wayward emotions and raging magic, was Dumbledore himself. Funnily enough, his mistake was being present before Harry. The moment Dumbledore made his presence known in the same room Harry was in, most likely to attempt to talk to the boy, the old man was blasted off his feet THROUGH a wall, and onto the kitchen table where everyone excluding himself, and Harry were eating.

What made that event humorous to a few members of the house, was that when the old man got up, he had a fork stuck in his ass.

After that, the old man made a point not to approach Harry unless it was a dire emergency, or when his emotions righted themselves. Whichever one happened first.

The next event involved no personal injury, just a revelation. It was one of the days that Harry had taken to reading in the living room. Remus Lupin, friend of the Potters, and ex-Professor at Hogwarts, had attempted to talk to Harry about the deaths of his remaining relatives. The soon to be Fifth, and sixth years were all present, along with Beatrice. What surprised them, was that he had made no move to stop them from sticking around, or even talking to him. His answers were short, and toneless…but they were answers none the less.

However, what amazed them even more, was that when Lupin began on a weak lecture of bottling emotions, Harry did no more than turn the page in his book, and blink. Of course a vase not far from him shattered, but there was no outward showing of emotion. Lupin apologized, and then stated he'd wait until Harry was ready to speak of such matters.

What shocked everyone, even Dumbledore who had peeked his head in when he heard the shatter…was that the vase repaired itself, and the dying flowers that were once in it, suddenly grew brighter, as if they had just bloomed.

Again, Harry did nothing more than continue reading.

Dumbledore beckoned the group to the kitchen.

"Might I ask what just happened?"

Hermione answered. "Well sir, it looked like Professor Lupin was going to force Harry into talking about two nights ago, when Harry blinked and a glass shattered. Then Professor Lupin apologized and said he'd wait till Harry came to him about it. Then the glass repaired itself, and the flowers came back to life."

"I thought that's what I saw…"

Hermione hesitated, but then spoke.

"Sir…I think Harry's a lot worse off than we see."

Luna spoke.

"Harry is no worse than we are."

Everyone turned to her.

"And how would you know Miss Lovegood."

"It's simple. He's dealing with his turmoil the only way he knows how. Silently, alone and within his own mind. He reads to increase his knowledge, and to keep his sanity."

"Then why do things keep _happening?_"

"That night…he opened himself up to the world at large. His magic flows freely now. That's why it seemed like he became nearly godlike in that fight. No longer does his subconscious suppress and forcibly channel his magic, the way most wizards do. His magic now flows through his body, through his mind, freely, unhindered, and relaxed. As such, it allows for nearly instantaneous responses to certain things. Like when Ronald touched him, his annoyance at being touched spoke to his magic, and it reacted, without Harry even moving a muscle."

"So Harry's been WILLINGLY doing all that?"

"I'm not sure…I think it's more like he's asking his magic to ward off anyone that would impede his progress, even in the slightest. Since it flows so freely, it does what his subconscious wants. The vase shattering was his way of telling Lupin not to speak about that right now. The vase repairing itself, and the flowers blooming again, was his magic's way of saying that he was happy that Lupin took the hint. Knowing Harry, he believes Dumbledore to be part of the cause he now is truly the last of his line. As such, his magic reacted the moment Dumbledore spoke, as he probably hasn't been able to lock your aura to his memory, and banished him in quite the forceful way."

"So we leave him alone."

This time Beatrice spoke.

"I…don't think so. I think he doesn't mind the company, I mean, he hasn't really kicked anyone out of the rooms he's been in unless we annoy him…and if what Luna said is true, he'd be able to before we'd even be conscious of it."

"That is true…"

Ginny piped up. "So what do we do?"

"Leave him alone pretty much. Stick around, do some homework or something, just…don't bother him. In the off chance he asks us something; obviously we answer…but don't try to distract him. It's pretty obvious he wants to read…"

"Yeah…but…some of those books…"

"Yes Miss Granger…some of the books he has been reading have been Dark Arts books. If I were to hazard a guess…he either wants to learn them for himself…or wants to learn how they work so he can defend against them."

The younger ones went back in, while Lupin stayed with Dumbledore.

"You don't think he's…"

"Planning on changing sides? No…I have heard about this, Fluidity in magic in a few books. It doesn't go into detail…but it mentions that such a thing is quite rare in anyone, wizard or no. One has to have a great deal of acceptance…before one can reach that state."

"So he'll be alright?"

"I dare say he will be. The reactions are becoming less violent…so it would seem that his emotions are righting themselves."

"I hope so…"

However…before they could…one last event would take place.

Molly Weasely had gone to the living room to fetch Harry for dinner. Everyone had told her not to bother him, but she denied their attempts to dissuade her by stating he was thin as a rail and needed to eat, even if she had to drag him there herself.

"Harry…dinner is ready dear."

He didn't even look up. "Not hungry."

"Nonsense dear, you're far too thin, you need to eat."

He turned a page. "Not hungry."

Being a Weasely, and not only that, being one of two females in the family, her temper was quite short.

"Harry Potter, you put that book down and come to dinner!"

Page turned. "Not Hungry."

Her face grew red with annoyance. She looked at the book he was reading. _What could POSSIBLY be so interesting that he'd refuse to-_

The book's title…

**Sifting through Shadows.**

**A Comprehensive Guide to the Darkness by Amadeus Black.**

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! YOU PUT THAT BOOK DOWN RIGHT NOW!"

He blinked and looked up in irritation.

"No."

"YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY YOUNG MAN! THAT BOOK IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD NOT BE READ BY A CHILD!"

He ignored her and went back to reading.

As soon as the first shout was made, everyone abandoned their meal to rush in…only to see Molly stomp over and attempt to wrench the book out of Harry's hands.

That…was a near fatal mistake. The moment her hand made contact with the book, Harry looked up. His eyes immediately turned a fierce blood red.

**CRACK!**

A shrill scream of agony shot out of the red haired woman's mouth. The bones in her arm had shattered completely, and not only that, but she was immediately knocked away by a wave of force so strong that it dropped even Dumbledore to his knees, though he was flaring his own magic to attempt to counter Harry's.

The sheer aura of anger and hatred Harry was emanating was suffocatingly powerful. Beatrice, who had been present when the Dark Lord was in a rage many a time, even dropped to her knees in fear.

However…one still stood.

Harry slowly stalked over to where Mrs. Weasely had landed. Everyone watched as a wall of translucent light appeared around Harry, and then wrapped itself around Mrs. Weasely, raising her into the air and pinning her to the wall.

Of course, the portrait of Mrs. Black began screeching.

"I don't care WHO you think you are, you have no right to stop me in ANYTHING I chose to do!"

**CRACK!**

Her other arm broke.

"You are NOT my Mother, nor my guardian!"

**CRACK!**

Her leg broke.

"You are nothing more than a STUPID woman who is so pathetically blinded by her own fears that she can't see the reality of what's right in front of her!"

**CRACK!**

Her other leg broke.

"You may be the mother of my friend, but you have NO ties to me, OR this house! And I SWEAR if you raise your voice at me or someone else who is NOT a part of your family again, _**I will remove it, PERMANENTLY!**_"

The portrait had continued screaming.

"**DAMMIT HARPY STOP YELLING!"**

He swung his left arm and pointed at the portrait, a sphere of the darkest black appearing in his hand as he swung. The sphere launched itself and slammed into the woman's portrait, turning into a black flame that quickly burned away at it.

It was here that he noticed someone still standing, despite the intentional aura of rage he was giving off. He wished not to involve anyone else but the woman in front of him, for they had learned. She did not. Regardless of her knowledge of his past, hell even of her children's past and actions, she continued to treat them as if they were naught more than babe's fresh off the teat. He turned to her and glared one last time.

"In case you haven't noticed _Woman, _there is a war going on, and your precious **Dumbledore **is at the center of it, along with myself! Your children are no longer exempt from the horrors that Voldemort and his followers can unleash! They have seen it FIRST HAND!"

(Play Kingdom Hearts Complete: The 13th Reflection)

The oppressive aura faded, though nobody rose.

He turned to leave, letting the sobbing woman drop to the ground. "Oh get over yourself woman. You can regrow those bones in a night. Stop sobbing like a pansy. You know **nothing **of pain."

He walked to the door. Everyone rushed to Molly's aid. He stopped. Everyone froze. Unseen to them, he had called forth an orb of blue light.

He whirled around and fired. The light streaked its way to one of their members. There was a flash and the orb had stopped, struggling against a transparent white barrier…a barrier that was in front of Luna Lovegood.

He held his hand there, a continuous stream of electricity linking the orb to his palm. Luna gave no sign of struggle, or even concern. The dreamy smile that was eternally on her face was present, her eyes shimmering.

Harry's eyes narrowed as the barrier gave a pulse, and the orb was sent into a wall.

He flicked his wrist a few times, and then vanished in a ripple of air. He re-appeared in front of Luna, arm back as if he were going to smack her with the back of his hand, when a red beam of light shot from his bracelet and stayed there, like a blade. He swung, and she ducked easily. He swung his arm down and she twirled to the side, still smiling. He spun his body to deliver a kick, and she twirled out of the way again. A second blade appeared on his other arm.

The smile grew wider.

He attacked her head with one arm, spinning himself. She ducked her head just under it, and then quickly arced her back as he followed with his second blade. She placed her hands above her head onto the floor and threw her weight backwards, a maneuver that impressed the females present, but still surprised every one. She cart wheeled backwards, the blade passing between her legs, and interestingly enough, giving Harry a nice look up her skirt…something that wouldn't register for a little while.

But what happened next stunned everyone.

She did a handstand, evading another swing, and then opened her legs. The action knocked Harry's next swing away from her. She then spun her body and hooked her leg around Harry's other arm, and immediately pushed off, redirecting his swing. He stumbled. She continued spinning herself, this time grabbing his leg with one of her hands. The momentum of her movements swept him off his feet. Immediately, she pushed using her free hand, off the ground, and pulled Harry's leg up, lifting him. She then twisted herself so her feet would be on his chest, and then kicked, knocking him into the air. Again, she sprung off her hands. This time she shot into the air, spinning like a corkscrew, delivering sharp kick to his chest.

She then placed her foot on his arm and pushed, rotating his body. She used her legs and wrapped them around his chest, and flipped twice in the air, and then slammed him onto the ground using her knees.

Everyone stared. Harry groaned. _I just got my ass handed to me by Luna fucking Lovegood._

"How…"

She leaned forward and stared into his eyes. She spoke softly, in a tone that made the blood rush to Harry's cheeks…and other places.

"I told you before Harry…you're not the only one around here who's Special."

She smiled her dreamy smile at him, and then arced back again. She pushed her knees off his chest and back flipped to her feet. She dusted herself off, walked over to him and held out her hand.

"Surprised?"

"Ugh…very much so…"

Her eyes twinkled.

"Good…now…are you done?"

He blinked…then it became clear.

"Tomorrow…I'll be done tomorrow…"

"Good. Go on Harry…I'll see you in a bit."

"You DO know I'm going to grill you on what the hell just happened right?"

"Grill away Harold. Just don't forget the candles if you're going to take me to dinner."

He blinked and then laughed. The first genuine laugh since Dudley died.

"Planning on making your name a reputation huh?"

"Perhaps…you'll have to wait and see wont you?"

"Indeed I will Luna…" He limped off. _Indeed I will…GOD DAMN THAT WOMAN HURT LIKE FUCK!_

_**I heard that.**_

…_WHAT THE HELL?!_

* * *

And here it is. Some of you may not like what I did to Molly, but it had to happen. She's very pushy, overbearing and tends to ignore that Harry is anything BUT a child. Many would believe Hermione to be a better target, to an extent I agree with you. However, Hermione is practically a genius. And right now, Harry's powers are a big unknown. All she knows is that a lot of his reactions happen through his emotions. And with his emotions unstable…well, she knew something was bound to come.

Molly Weasely isn't such a person. She's so used to being obeyed by even most adults through her sheer force of will, that when Harry refused her she grew irritated, not to mention she is one of the many who sees in black and white. She may be a good mother, but she's not that smart when it comes to survival. Blindly loyal to Dumbledore, she even insulted Sirius a few times, and she was a GUEST in his home. All in all, I tend not to like her that much. She makes everyone cower in fear of her wrath…well now she's more than met her match.

M1lKy: Overbearing…the way I used it means that they're pushy, obnoxious, loud…just a very powerful presence, not so much power itself but more like they FORCE you to take heed to their existence. As for the Animal thing, it was to show that Harry was tapping into a power that hadn't been seen for a LONG time, and animals are very sensitive to supernatural things.

Aires Drake: Looks like you were wrong on the Hermione call, though a good guess. You were pretty close actually. I still think last chapter could have been written better, but I believe this one more than makes up for it.

D&S Master: Bout freakin time you showed up! And "Damn" pretty much summarizes things doesn't it?

Bandgsecurityaw: thanks.

Dragen Ranger: yes…poor Dudley. But like I said, his death set in motion the events of this chapter. Though now…Harry's got a new task…

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Hope this chapter's good enough for you all!

"Luna Lovegood. Lovegood by name, love Very Good by reputation."


	8. Sound Mind

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter VII: Sound Mind and Body**

**Unknown Location**

"…should wake up soon…"

"…but how did he…"

"…blasted mortals…"

A man was lying on the ground, confused, disoriented, and quite weak.

"Ugh…what happened…"

"I see you've awakened."

"Agh…my head…feels like Buckbeak used it as a pillow…"

"Here, drink this. It will help."

The man took the bottle from the cloaked being in front of him, and gulped it down. He expected it to taste horrible, however instead it tasted-

"Damn! This tastes like vanilla!"

"Good huh? Made it myself. Cures migraines, concussions, constipation and once in a while lack of a sex drive."

The man stared at the being…and laughed.

"What? I was being serious."

"No…I believe that is MY name."

The being nodded.

"Indeed."

"Alright…who are you…and where am I?"

"I am…Shinigami Xenmaru. As for where you are…Welcome Sirius Black…to the realm of the Dead."

Sirius stared at the youth. "Oh bloody hell I'm dead?!"

"No…but the rest of the world thinks you are. You were hit with a minor concussion spell that knocked you for a loop, and you fell through an archway that leads to the Realm of Death. You didn't actually _die _per-se, but you are in the land of the dead."

He blinked.

"I'm lost."

"No, you're Sirius. Honestly man cant you remember your own damned name?"

Sirius had to give a laugh at that. "You remind me of my friend James."

"Perhaps."

"So…Xenmaru was it? How do I get outta this place?"

"You don't. Well…not from here at least."

"What do you mean?"

"We're in the realm of the dead. People come in…they don't come out. Buuuut…since I AM the Lord of the Dream Realm…I can take you _there…_and then find a gate that leads back to your world."

"Great! That means I can help Harry!"

The cloaked figure sighed.

"Yes and No."

"What do you mean?"

The figure motioned. "Come, walk with me. It will be a little bit before we reach an area I can take you to my Realm."

Sirius nodded and followed along.

"I can send you back to your world, but I cannot send you back to the time you came from."

"Huh?"

"Ok imagine this, you wake up one morning, grab a mug of coffee and walk out of your house to pick up the daily paper. You shut the door behind you as you walk out. You're outside of the house, browsing the multiple sections to get a feel for whether or not the bloody thing's going to be interesting enough to read later. Mind the skulls there."

Sirius blanched and carefully stepped over the random skulls lying on the blood red grass.

"While you're outside, time continues inside the house. You left the stove on, and one of the windows is right over it. The curtains you use catch fire, and inside the house it's slowly burning, while you're outside, none the wiser. You turn to enter, and see flames shooting out of the windows."

"That sucks."

"Yes it does. However the story had a point."

"What is it?"

The figure shook its head. "You were being honest when you said Remus did all the thinking…weren't you?"

Sirius just smiled sheepishly and scratched at the back of his head.

"The point is, that time continues even if you remove yourself from a location. You've been unconscious on that ground for two months, your world time. I can send you back to your world…but it would be as if you were traveling from the past to the future in one leap. You've been removed from the time stream that envelops your world. You've been living…yet you've not aged."

"That's pretty cool…"

"For a mortal perhaps. But everyone you knew believes you dead. I swear, if I wasn't an Ascended I'd go to your world and personally deal with the idiots that placed a Gateway in such an un-secured area…"

"Gateway? I could HEAR the capital in that."

The figure chuckled.

"This is before I became Lord of the Dream Realm, but apparently someone created Gateways to multiple worlds. There are many on your Earth and many in other worlds as well. Most lead to the darker realms, like the Realm of Death. And those same that do, tend to lead to the more dangerous parts of them. You were lucky that particular one was very close to an area I was watching."

"Ahh…thanks for that then."

"Not a problem. Anyway, as I was saying, you'll return to where you originally entered from, and will seal the Gateway. Don't worry, there's nothing you need to consciously do, it's just a little spell I'll place that automatically classifies you as the _last _user of the Gateway, and call for an immediate shutdown. Unless someone in one of the worlds of the End of Time opens it back up, no more can be sent through that particular entryway."

"Good."

"It would seem…that someone had placed a rather intricate spell on you, one that was tied to your soul being within that world."

"What? Who?"

"I know not who, for I've only watched the world you came from fleetingly, but the spell ties your existence to another's. When I noticed it I did some digging through the time stream. The spell was created to suppress one spectrum of emotions in a being, and enhance others, while making the person easily persuaded by the caster."

"Who…"

"I believe it to have been the work of one of your world's Dark Wizards. I know little more than that, and for that I apologize, but when you return, the spell will be nullified, seeing as it already has, I'll just…toss my own spin on a counter spell."

"Wait so the spell ended?"

"Yes, as I said it was tied to your soul being on that plane of existence. Since you were transported to the Realm of Death, the connection was severed, and unless someone were to re-forge it personally, will remain. I will make sure that it cannot be re-forged."

"Good…"

They arrived at the top of a hill.

"Good…this is where we will transfer to my realm, and then I will locate where you came from and send you back."

A glowing rainbow rip in the air appeared.

The figure nodded at Sirius, and he jumped through. The figure then leapt through after, portal closing.

**Dream Realm: Twilight Castle…**

"Bloody Hell!"

"Amazing isn't it? I've lived here for over a thousand of your world's years…and I still get amazed by it."

"Damn! You must be old as hell!"

The figure removed his hood to reveal a young man.

"Not really. I became an Ascended when I died saving my world. I was about nineteen then. I've stayed this age ever since."

"Amazing…"

"Meh, it's alright. The best part is that the world I rule over is surprisingly beautiful."

As the two approached the castle, the youth described his Realm.

"The Realm is divided into seven points. Each one representing a different location for Dreamers to enter. Entry to the Realm of Dreams is permitted by Dream Energy, also known as Ideya. There are six different colors, Yellow, Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White. Red and Black being the Rarest. The colors represent certain traits."

He opened the castle doors with a wave of his hand, and guided the taller man through.

"Yellow represents Hope, Red is Courage, Blue is Intelligence, Green is Wisdom, Black is honor and White is Purity. Everyone has combinations of two or even four of the six. Five colors is rare, and Six is even rarer. However…there is a seventh. The rarest of them all, one that was rumored not to exist before I came along."

"What's that?"

"Silver. Which is Acceptance. TRUE Acceptance. Acceptance of life, of death, and everything in between."

Sirius whistled. "Interesting. So these…Ideya, they let people into this world?"

"Yep, everyone has them, even your Dark Lord. Though he's been knocked down to only one. The Ideya appear depending on the person's strongest personality traits at the time, so which ones show up vary over time."

"That makes sense…"

They entered a room. The room had one giant green Crystal in the center.

"The different areas are as follows."

Here he pushed a button. The gem glowed and showed a picture of seven orbs.

"The one on the top right is called Splash Garden, it's basically a beach world. A small water park and a beautiful garden of many flowers are around, along with a few unusual bubbles that act like pools. The top left is called Spring Valley. Basically a mountain range with a LONG river going around it, and floating islands with windmills…for whatever reason. A couple of waterfalls too."

"Nice…"

"The middle left is called Mystic Forest. It lives up to its name. A HUGE forest filled with trees that pass the skies. Plenty of logs, a few random cabins…and for some reason roman looking ruins…along with Traffic lights floating in the air."

"What?"

"Yeah I've been there over a hundred times…and I STILL don't get what they're doing there."

"Nutters."

"Indeed. The middle right is Frozen Bell. A winter wonderland if I do say so myself. Frozen lake for ice skating, plenty of snow, constantly falling I might add, and a random train that takes you to different parts of the area."

"Cool…err…no pun intended."

"The lower right is Stick Canyon. It's a desert filled with gigantic electric powered magnets…and a huge construction tower. Dunno why its there though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was supposed to be an oil field…"

"Giant magnets?"

"I don't know either. The bottom left is Soft Museum. It gets its name from the fact that the ground beneath you warps like a trampoline. Well…everything warps like a trampoline, except for certain parts of the interior of the Museum itself. Giant mirrors reflect you in unusual ways in the Museum though…pretty interesting to look at if you have the time. Not to mention the really strange sculptures. Some of them look like someone carved stone into macaroni shapes…and stuck them together on a slab of rock…and called it art."

Both of them had a good laugh at that.

"And finally the seventh world, the center, is called Twin Seeds. Originally it didn't exist. But two teenagers from a city called twin seeds were crucial to the defeat of one of the Lords of Nightmares. He had gotten power mad and one of his own creations defected and summoned a pair of powerful dreamers to assist it. The final battle took place in the boundary between this world and theirs, and the aftermath ended up dragging their city into the dream world permanently. Somehow though, their city remained connected with their world the rest of the way…and only those who know the secret can enter this place."

"And this castle?"

"The castle…was a gift to me. When I Ascended, I created the island the castle is on. It's roughly half the size of Twin Seeds, which would be about the size of your London. The castle is dead center. The island can move itself between areas in the dream world when I will it, but mostly hovers over Twin Seeds. The Twin Seeds Tower has a gateway that can only be activated by myself, one of my vassals, or one of the two dreamers from that battle. Since the Dream world is connected to all worlds, dimensions, and timelines, I have to monitor many things at once…but I'm not alone. The other Ascended help out once in a while."

The youth began pressing buttons with symbols on them.

"You mentioned a Lord of Nightmares?"

"Yeah, the Dream Realm, being part of the Universal Order, has an opposite. The Realm of Nightmares. It's basically a darker version of the dream realm. However, since it's closer to the darker spectrum of things, the Lords tend to go a bit mad, and start getting visions of grandeur. That's when I step in and put them in their place. Most of the Lords were pretty level headed, but those that went nuts…cant really blame them. I'd go crazy too if I ruled a world of fear and suffering."

"Yeah…"

"Oh…hey I found it!"

"What?"

"The world you came from. Good thing the Emerald knows how to read energy patterns and give me most likely coordinates…"

"Can I see?"

"Sure…here we go…ahh…your will reading…hmm…wanna have some fun before you go back?"

"Fun? As in pranking fun?"

"Hells yes."

"I'm in."

**Gringotts Bank, Chamber…**

"Are we all settled? Good. I shall now read the last will and testament of Sirius Black."

Harry, Bea, the Weaselys, the Order, Hermione and Luna were all present. Unfortunately so were Draco and Narcissa Malfoy.

"I, Sirius Black, being of Sound Mind and Body, Shut up Remus."

Remus let out a small snort at Sirius being of sound mind.

"Do hereby divide up my considerable estate as follows."

"To my annoying and idiotic cousin Narcissa Malfoy, I leave you with…a boot to the head."

"What?!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, a black leather boot materialized out of thin air and smashed into Narcissa's face.

The others had to hold back their laughter at the site.

"And one to her stupid ponce of a son Draco as well."

Smack. "Son of a-

"To My Darling cousin Andromeda, I leave fifty thousand galleons…and for coming up with such a ridiculous name for your daughter…a boot to the head."

Whistle, SMACK. "Ouch! Dammit Sirius!"

"And one to the bitch and the ponce." Double smack. "DAMMIT!"

It was getting difficult to hold back their laughter.

"To Nymphadora Tonks, I leave a sum of forty thousand galleons, and for that time when you turned me into a woman for a week…a boot to the head."

Smack. "SIRIUS!"

"To Albus Dumbledore, for locking me in my own house, and for leaving young Harry at those bloody gits of relatives I give you my middle finger…" Here the solicitor gave Dumbledore the bird, a blank uncaring look on his face. "and a very LARGE boot to the head."

Whump. Dumbledore didn't even flinch. "By the way Dumbledore, I knew you wouldn't even flinch from that, so I spelled the boot to make you have the runs for three days every time you ate one of your Lemon Drops."

Dumbledore paled, he had a handful of them before coming here.

Now the others were REALLY struggling to hold in their laughter

"To Ronald Weasely…for being a good friend to Harry, I leave you with my stock in Nimbus Broom Company, and a sum of Forty thousand galleons…though for your random bouts of jealousy…I leave you also a boot to the head."

Smack. "Bloody Hell!"

"And another for the idiot and the ferret."

Two more smacks.

"SHIT!"

"To Hermione Granger, I leave the majority of the Black Personal Library, along with forty thousand galleons."

The girl smiled…and then sighed as she knew what was coming.

"And for being such a bookworm, and too tense…and too bossy…and needing a good shag-

Here she blushed fiercely.

"I also give to you…a boot to the head."

Smack. "If he wasn't already dead…"

"To Molly Weasely, for insulting me in my own home, undermining my authority when it comes to Harry's well being, and generally not wanting to be anything more than a mother-hen, pain in the arse, I leave you with, a boot to the head."

Smack. "Be glad I'm pleased with the fact that you took care of Harry at the times I couldn't, even if you did mother him too much, or I'd have made it two. Also, another boot for the retard and the ponce."

Whack, WHACK. They had long since stopped complaining.

"To my good friend Remus, I leave you with One Hundred Thousand Galleons, all the stock in the potions labs in the house, and, a boot to the head."

Whack. "Dammit Sirius…even in death you don't live up to your namesake."

WHACK. "Hey what the-

"I had that one prepared just in case you made a lame joke about my name. ONLY I CAN MAKE LAME JOKES DAMMIT MOONY!"

"To the Weasely Twins, who graciously carry out the will and spirits of the Marauders: I leave you my entire stock in Zonko's joke productions, fifty thousand galleons each, and of course, in Marauder tradition, a flamboyantly pink, boot to the head."

Surprisingly the twins stuck their faces out in pride and triumph, as frilly, pink, fuzzy boots appeared out of thin air, and struck them on the faces.

"ALL HAIL SIRIUS BLACK!"

"And finally, to my Godson, Harry Potter…I leave my love, adoration, and my belief that you will make of yourself successfully whatever you wish…along with the rest of this crap of mine, which would probably be about four hundred million galleons, a crapload of brooms and wands, some random stuff in the vault, Grimmauld Place, Buckbeak, my motorcycle, which by the way, Lily would KILL me if she knew…and I weren't already dead of course…though don't let that stop her…"

Harry had tears in his eyes, but he was smiling.

"And…a boot…to Voldemort's head."

Eyes widened.

**Unknown Location.**

"Dammit! Where is Bellatrix?!"

"I-I'm s-sorry m-my lord…"

"Sorry wont find her rat! _Cru-_

Suddenly, out of nowhere a boot formed from thin air, and rammed into Voldemort's face with such force that it knocked him out.

**Gringotts Bank…**

Harry's scar glowed red, and he saw a vision of what just happened.

He burst out laughing.

"Harry? What just happened?"

"Tom…Tom was ranting about not finding you…and was about to curse Wormtail…and then got knocked out by a flying boot!"

This made everyone but the Malfoy's laugh.

"I also name you heir of the House of Black."

"I contest this on the grounds that he was blasted off the tapi-

**WHAM**

A HUGE steel-toed boot slammed into Narcissa's face.

"Damn…even I felt that one…"

"This concludes the reading of the will. Mister Potter, if you would, this Signet Ring will confirm your new status as Master of the House of Black, and all the roles that go with it."

Harry placed the ring on his finger, felt a prick like a needle, and then watched as the ring shot off his finger, glowed red, separated into two orbs of light, and then slammed into his bracelets.

He blinked. As did everyone else.

"Was that…Supposed to happen?"

**Dream World**

"Was that?"

"No…but what were those things on his wrists?"

"You'll have to ask him yourself. Portal's ready."

"Awesome…thanks Xenmaru."

"Not a problem. As Lord of the Dream Realm, it's one of my jobs to make sure the portals near my boarders are watched carefully, and return the ones that fell through…provided they still live of course."

He tapped a few keys and a shimmering gate opened.

"This will take you to the exact place you entered from. Afterwards, the Archway will be naught more than an Archway."

"Brilliant. Thanks again mate."

He hopped through, eager to see his godson.

"Not a problem Sirius Black…that boy will need all the family he can get…"

* * *

Well then…as you can see I brought Sirius back. And before you ask, No, it's not likely Xenmaru will show up again in this fic. He was there because in many of my stories, his character IS the Ruler of the Dream Realm.

This chapter was meant as a purely humor chapter, as demonstrated by constant flying boots. Sense and reason went out the window for a vacation with this chapter.

M1lKy: I'll explain soon why Luna could hear what she did. Let's just say…the connection between the two is pretty important. There will be one more added to the connection.

EnthusiasticEarthEntertainment: I'm gonna call you E3 from now on. I will finish this story. It might take a while though…cause I've got Real World stuff to take care of…but I'll finish it.

Bandgsecurityaw: thanks.

D&SMaster: Harry hasn't gone Emo…more like…his sanity is waning, even with the talks he had with Dudley…it doesn't help that he keeps being the cause, albeit indirectly, of the deaths of the people he loves. However Sirius returning will help with that.

Wolfprincess09: indeed, Molly is so used to everyone obeying what she says, no matter what, even if it's not her house or children. She needed to be put in her place, and shown that she's nothing more than a scared little human who doesn't know how to keep her own mouth shut and see the bigger picture.

SwiftShadow: Don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us. I myself tend to forget to review lately. I pay attention to the hit counter anyway.

Rellenh: not as soon as you'd hoped probably, but it's worth the wait I think.

GinnyLover14: Luna will be in a relationship with Harry, and most likely so will Bea…and…one more character…that nobody will expect.

Dragen Ranger: Luna is special. She's named after the moon after all. That's gotta count for something. Her power in itself will be explained soon enough. I'll say this though. If Harry is Balance…then he must be accompanied by the two halves, along with an outside.

AiresDrake: Glad you liked it. I'll be tossing in a few other RPGs and Adventures, along with a couple more anime refrences…not too much though. I don't really have which ones planned out, but they'll pop up. Thanks for the offer though, good to know I've got people watching my back in case I need help. Actually, this chapter threw in a semi-vague game refrence. Lets see if anyone spots it.

Alright…this one's done. Here's something to look forward to…

"I cant believe it…he's my best friend…and I'm thinking of him like this!"

"Don't be upset…just go for it kiddo!"

"Y'know…we still have to go back to Diagon Alley before we head back to Hogwarts…we could…get you cleaned up."

"No…it wouldn't be worth the time…he wouldn't think of me like that."

"Harold is a very observant boy…he thinks of you often. Perhaps not in the light you wish him to…but you have to show yourself, not as a sister figure…but as a possible love interest. I assure you, he's considered it, but brushed it aside, believing that you'd best be with another."

"Oh that's a load of fucking thestral shit!"

"Gee…never thought I'd see the day _you _of all people chain cursed."

"I can't help it anymore…I'm tired of not being noticed."

"Beatrice and I will help you. As I told her, I'm not object to sharing…"

"That and since he's the last male Black Heir…along with the last Potter Heir…he's gonna HAVE to be with multiple women…in order to keep the line going…might as well make it girls he cares about!"

"Alright, in two days, Operation Butterfly will commence!"


	9. One to two and two to three

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter VIII: From One to Two, and from Two to Three…**

Harry and the others had just left Gringotts bank. They were passing through to the Leaky Caldron, to use the floo network…when suddenly Luna stiffened. Harry, sensing something wrong, whirled around. Luna's eyes were wide with shock as visions raced through her mind. A strange sense of someone familiar filled her heart.

"Luna? What's wrong?"

She blinked and shook her head. The lack of the vacant look let everyone know something bothered her.

"I…don't know. I think…my senses picked up something off."

"Off…as in bad off?"

"No…just…off. It felt…familiar some how."

"You mean like how you sensed me?"

"Similar…but not quite. I'll need time to figure this out…lets get back for now."

Everyone nodded and moved on…however…the disturbance that Luna felt…was just beginning…

**Ministry of Magic: Atrium…**

A black haired man walked through an archway in the center of the room. He felt something behind him and turned to see a shimmering field of energy inside the archway.

"Now how did I not notice you before?"

The veil fluttered over the shimmering field.

"That would explain things.

Suddenly the field faded and vanished entirely.

"I guess this is what he meant when he said he'd close that particular gate…"

The man turned and stepped into the shadows. Immediately he was replaced by a large black dog. _Alright Padfoot…time to get back to Harry…_

**Grimmauld Place: 24 hours later…**

The Hogwarts group was sitting in the living room. Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard's chess, which Harry wasn't getting horribly decimated in. He was still losing, but he wasn't being slaughtered. Neville was watching the two, trying to pick up a few ideas of strategy. The girls were on the other side, talking. A silencing bubble was placed, courtesy of Luna, preventing anyone from hearing what they were talking about.

"I can't believe it…he's my best friend…and I'm thinking of him like this!"

"Don't be upset…just go for it kiddo!"

"Y'know…we still have to go back to Diagon Alley before we head back to Hogwarts…we could…get you cleaned up."

"No…it wouldn't be worth the time…he wouldn't think of me like that."

"Harold is a very observant boy…he thinks of you often. Perhaps not in the light you wish him to…but you have to show yourself, not as a sister figure…but as a possible love interest. I assure you, he's considered it, but brushed it aside, believing that you'd best be with another."

"Oh that's a load of fucking Thestrals shit!"

"Gee…never thought I'd see the day _you _of all people chain cursed."

"I can't help it anymore…I'm tired of not being noticed."

"Beatrice and I will help you. As I told her, I'm not object to sharing…"

"That and since he's the last male Black Heir…along with the last Potter Heir…he's gonna HAVE to be with multiple women…in order to keep the line going…might as well make it girls he cares about!"

"Alright, in two days, Operation Butterfly will commence!"

Luna smiled…and suddenly stiffened again. Through the strange connection between them, Harry sensed her unease.

"Luna? What's wrong?"

She spoke but no sound came out.

"Uhh…Luna…I can't hear you."

_**Well why the bloody hell not?!**_

Harry blinked. _There seems to be some sort of enchantment stopping sound._

Luna blinked. She blushed heavily. The silencing ward came down and she spoke.

"That feeling from yesterday is back…only stronger!"

That's when he walked in.

"HARRY!"

This person…this man…who looked exactly like his dead godfather, ran up to him. Harry did the only thing he could think of.

**Ping. CRASH!**

"Ow! What the hell was that?!"

"Who are you?!"

"Geez Harry you don't recognize me?"

"I know who you look like, but not who you are, show your true form imposter!"

"Imposter? Harry it's me, Sirius!"

"BE SILENT! Sirius is DEAD!"

"No! I fell through the veil into the Realm of Death, but I'm not-

"LIAR!"

(Play .hack GU: I'm Right Here)

Harry pulled out his wand and fired a bludgeoning hex at the man. The Sirius look-a-like rolled out of the way, only to have to leap back as a stunning spell shot in front of him. Ron had taken up arms and assisted Harry.

_Ok…Harry I could deal with…Ron AND Harry…that's gonna be tough._

Suddenly he was knocked off his feet by a banishing spell from his left. Hermione, eyes blazing with a fire he'd never even HEARD of her having before had joined the battle.

_Oh crap…I know that look…that's the look Lily used to get whenever James was in danger from a death eater! It can't be…are those two…_

He hopped out of the way as a stinging hex shot from Ginny.

_Oh hell now what?!_

Then Dumbledore showed up.

"Albus! Thank god! Tell these guy's I'm really Siri-

He had to duck as a blasting hex shot from Lupin.

"DAMMIT MOONY!"

_**Harry…he DOES feel familiar…**_

_I know Luna…but I can't believe he's Sirius, for all we know it could be Snape trying to trick us!_

Sirius had dropped to the ground to avoid a slashing hex from Hermione.

_Damn! That girl is going for the kill!_

Harry launched a sphere of silver white energy at Sirius, who rolled out of the way, only to be slammed in the side by it as it expanded.

_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!_

Luna vanished, and then re-appeared in front of Sirius, spinning for a kick. He barely dodged out of the way in time, only to be caught in the arm by a shattering spell sent by Ginny.

Harry did the same as Luna, only instead, aiming for a palm strike to Sirius' chest. In a feat of acrobatics not even he knew he could perform, Sirius back-flipped out of the way with one arm.

_Oh crap, oh crap oh crap!_

Luna and Harry nodded at each other, and stood back to back in a fighting stance.

_Ahh…I'm screwed._

Both of them launched forward at the same time, Harry with his right fist, Luna with her left. Both delivered a solid punch to Sirius' chest. In synch, almost as if they were one person, both of them struck with an uppercut, followed by a back kick to send him away.

Sirius flipped and landed on his stomach.

"Bloody…hell…"

Seeing the two coming, he freaked…and unintentionally turned into Padfoot. The shaggy black dog covered its head with its paws and whimpered.

Everyone froze.

Remus blinked repeatedly.

"P-Padfoot?"

The dog looked up fearfully.

Both Luna's and Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"That means…the feeling…was Sirius?"

Harry fell to his knees.

"S-Sirius?"

The dog transformed back into a man, who was still on his knees. He looked Harry in the eye.

(Play GU: Grief City Eld Sleika)

Sirius nodded. Harry leapt at him and hugged him tightly, crying.

"You're alive! You're bloody fucking alive!"

"Never died Pup."

Hermione stared.

"This is impossible…we…he…saw you…fall through the Veil of Death!"

Rubbing Harry's back, Sirius explained.

"You saw me fall, yes…but the Veil doesn't kill. It was a portal, leading to a very specific place called the Realm of the Dead."

Everyone sat. Molly and Arthur Weasely had arrived not long into the battle, the two not saying anything. Dumbledore queried.

"What do you mean Sirius?"

"The Realm of the Dead is where all spirits go when they leave their mortal bodies. Normally it's impossible to leave unless they hitch a ride with a demon through a portal of some sort. However, those who arrive through portals, like the one in the ministry, with strong enough wills, and physical bodies, don't die when they go through. However that particular portal was a One Way trip. So eventually they wander into the wrong place, and end up dying there anyway."

Harry looked up at him. "Then what happened to you?"

"I met a dude named Xenmaru."

Hermione shrieked. "YOU MET THE LORD OF THE DREAM REALM?!"

"Uhh…yeah…you know him?"

"NO! But I read all about him! He's supposedly one of the most powerful beings of the Ascended Plane! He's responsible for maintaining the balance between multiple universes!"

"Huh…never told me about that."

"He's practically a GOD!"

"Awesome. I hung out with a God…that'll be a story to tell the grand-children."

"Did he mention anything about this world?"

"Nope…He only said I was damn lucky that I showed up so close to the borders of his realm, and that he was monitoring that specific area I showed up in. I did however get to see his power in action."

"What do you mean?"

"Can I borrow your wand Harry?"

He blinked but handed it over.

Sirius smirked…and flicked it.

Suddenly a large leather boot slammed into Dumbledore's face.

Everyone burst out laughing at seeing the surprise on the old man's face.

"Boot to the head."

Suddenly, the words registered in Neville's brain.

"Wait…you mean the boots to their heads…WASN'T you?"

"Nope. My will didn't even involve the Malfoy's at all. Xenmaru said he'd tweaked it a bit for our amusement."

"Can I go meet him?"

"Sorry kiddo…but the portal's closed. He said that it was foolish of the earlier Ascended to leave incompetent people with the gate in the first place. But he IS the Lord of Dreams…never know, you might run into him one day."

As she settled, a very particular member of the group had a very intense conversation with herself.

_Well then…it looks like he doesn't need me anymore…_ _"oh nonsense! Just because he may not need you, doesn't change that _you _need _him_!" he doesn't see me that way, nobody does! I'm just the bookworm! "Look at yourself dammit! You've got tits, you've got an ass, you've got a nice face, you've GOT a fucking body woman! Knock his eyes out of his sockets and claim him as yours!" But…Luna…and Bea- "They both said they wouldn't mind sharing, not to mention NEITHER of them is currently dating him! Luna's close to him because of that weird link and Bea's close to him because of what he did for her! You have your chance!"_

The lone girl nodded to herself, taking a deep breath. While she thought, Harry was showing Sirius some of his new powers. She gathered her courage- _I'm in bloody fucking Gryffindor for a reason dammit! _–and stalked over to Harry.

"Hermione wha-

She slapped both hands on his face and kissed him on the lips.

Now, normally the surprise would trigger his AT field, but it would seem that Hermione's will was stronger than his at the moment, so her own natural energy field temporarily canceled out Harry's. This, as soon as it registered, would be recognized as a feat of its own.

Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Shock was on all of their faces as the resident bookworm, Hermione Granger, lip locked with Harry Potter, resident powerhouse.

After a few moments, she pulled back, cheeks flushed red. She stared into his eyes, and before her brain could take over, she spoke.

"School books aren't the only thing I've been studying lately Harry Potter." She trailed her finger across his cheek as she passed by him, heading up the stairs.

Harry was stunned. He was confused. And god dammit did that do some havoc to his hormones.

"…what just happened here?"

Luna and the other girls just laughed.

"Something important Harold…"

_**Something VERY Important.**_

Ginny spoke up.

"So does this mean Operation Butterfly doesn't need to be done?"

"Oh we'll still do it. But it'll only reinforce what's there."

_Operation Butterfly? Do I want to know?_

_**Oh Harold…you'll know soon enough…**_

Luna however, accidentally let slip another thought.

_**I wonder how good she is…**_

* * *

Short…but it gets done what needed to be done. Yes, I'm making Hermione a third. It allows me to twist her character into what I think she should be. Someone who is loyal to Harry, a bit bossy, but will learn to listen to others. A cute bookworm who's got a very VERY repressed sex drive…and not to mention a girl with a fuckload to prove, and a very good head on her shoulders.

Now…with Sirius, Bea, and Hermione in the places I want them to be…the real fun can begin…

Twilliams1797: Glad to have you aboard sir! Good to see that people of all ages are enjoying this work. As you requested, I've spewed out some more!

SwiftShadow: Ahh, I trust the hit counter because even if it's mostly from the same people, it means that it was so good they had to re-read it. Or so bad. Whichever one, it gets people reading it.

Alorkin: I must apologize, but Hermione will be greatly out of character for this fic. Originally I portrayed her the way I did to point out her major glaring recurring flaws, things that could actually easily be changed, with the right events. I've made the right events happen, and now that she's admitted to herself, and everyone around her that she's in love with Harry, the changes can begin. I once was a vast fan of Hermione, but after seeing how she tended to focus mostly on the numerical impact of her grades, it made me realize that she's quite selfish sometimes, only giving in to others when she fears she might lose them.

Take a look at the D.A. She pressured Harry into starting it, when he had enough on his plate already. Indeed it helped in the long run, but it was truly something she wanted done, and used him to have it become reality. This shows that she is more than willing to use her friends to further her own goals. This can be constituted as a self-confidence problem…but when your best friend is Harry Potter, and you've got some of, if not the highest grades in your school, one would think that self-confidence wouldn't be an issue. Not to mention she has a problem with believing that if someone is in an authority position, they MUST be obeyed, and they MUST be deserving of that position. Not to mention if it doesn't have a logical base, in her mind it doesn't exist. To be honest it was her interactions with Luna, combined with her actions during the fifth book that clued me in on how horrible she truly could be, and for no reason. This is why I tend to make her more of a possible enemy in my stories. However in this one, I want to try my hand at making a likable Hermione. Hopefully, though she wont be canon, the version of Hermione I plan on constructing will be to your liking.

Dogbertcarroll: hah! Luna as Sailor Moon? Then I'd have to make the other girls Senshi as well! And then I'd have to find a Sailor Saturn, and then make her the focus of the story! Though that would be an interesting idea…

Veela504: Here's more!

Ookii Mamoru: Operation Butterfly. I couldn't come up with a better name for it. I mean, Worms don't evolve…and Moths aren't that pretty to look at…so I called it Butterfly. You'll see what happens…hmm…this gives me an idea…

Shawn Pickett: We have spoken about your concerns…and if you wish can continue to. It's good to speak of such things, for it is how we learn others views, and to accept and understand them…which is actually one of the themes of the story. I'm glad you like this overall however.

Treck: The link you sent me was kinda cut off. Can you tell me how to get there manually? I wouldn't be surprised if a direct link would just keep getting fragmented. I'd like to see how I managed to get on a yahoo group without even knowing...not that I'm upset, just bemused and quite interested.

Seku238: it will be a few close wives…well, something like that. I too wonder how Ginny will turn out in canon…especially with a temper like Molly's…hopefully she'll have a greater deal of understanding…oh well, she DOES have a weakness…

"Harry! How could you! You attacked my mother!"

"GINNY!"

"WHAT?!"

"Chamber of Secrets."

That'd shut her up right then and there. Doubly so if he said it in parseltongue.

Wonderbee31: oh it gets even better. The mystery girl is revealed…and now the fun can begin.

TricaLee: thanks, I thought people'd like that.

JVTazz: Indeed it is.

Dragen Ranger: Oh Hermione will be too busy courting Harry to kill Sirius…though she might just do something interesting to him…

GinnyLover14: TOO MANY BOOTS! Bah, I'll forward them all to Voldemort…

Bandgsecurityaw: thanks!

Well, that's all for now…but here's an excerpt…

"Three girls? Harry you dog!"

"Last I checked you and Moony were the dogs, Sirius."

"Hey leave me out of this!"

"No way Moony, I need some help with these three. Help that goes beyond 'shag them all at once.'"

"What? That's sound advice Harry! Sides, you could probably use the workout."

"Sirius…you didn't see Harry earlier in the summer. Combined with his magic, he could probably bench-press a TANK."

"What's a tank?"

"A giant metal car on treads with a big tube on a moving kettle top that fires projectiles that could blow up a building in one blast. It's about three times as heavy as Hagrid after Christmas Dinner."

"Merlin! Well…the girls could use the workout."

"SIRIUS!"


	10. New Teacher

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter IX: Time Moves On**

Time passed, and the girls went to Diagon Alley again. The majority of adults, along with the boys, were left at Grimmauld Place. The girls' task? Get Hermione new clothes. However, the bushy haired girl had plans of her own as well.

Using some of the considerable amount of cash left to her by the not-deceased Sirius Black, she bought a rather…interesting trunk. It had three compartments. One, which was large enough to contain roughly everything she's ever had in her entire life. Another, which lead down into a nice little kitchen slash dining room like area. And a third…which lead into a bedroom slash study area. However…the third room…was spelled, rather powerfully, to have a different timeframe than the others, let alone the rest of the world.

This room's speed moved at a day per hour. Meaning every hour spent on the outside world, was a day in the room…

But that wasn't the only thing she did.

During her movments of objects from the Black Library to her trunk, she encountered a book on Advanced Runes. Her first thought was to give it to Harry…when she skimmed through it, and saw something that made her eyes widen.

Within the book was a step-by-step guide…to creating your own personal power enhancement runes. These runes would be placed on the person's skin itself, and they would have varying effects, based on the person's personality, skills, and wishes. She summoned the girls to her study, and slammed the book down on the table in front of them.

"Alright. We all know of my obvious feelings for Harry. And we all know that Voldemort is still after him. We also know that anyone who attempts, let alone HOLDS a relationship with him will be targeted by Voldemort."

"That's not a problem for Luna…or even Bea…"

"Yes, but it's a problem for me. I'm weak."

"Hermione…there's no need to put yourself down."

The bookworm laughed.

"I'm not, it's true. Compared to most I'm weak magically. Oh sure I've got brains, but they can only go so far in a fight. I've got enough magical stamina to cast a few powerful spells, but as soon as I do, I'm spent. Knowing a bunch of powerful attacks or defenses is useless unless you have the power to repeatedly use them."

Her company stayed silent at this.

"Luna and Bea can handle their own, Luna from her own weird alignment of powers, and Bea from her past as one of Voldemort's top followers. As it stands, they have a better chance of being with Harry than I will…because I refuse to be a 'damsel in distress.'"

Her company laughed at this. Ginny inquired.

"So what do you plan to do?"

Hermione opened the book.

"Right here…are step-by-step instructions on creating and maintaining your own personal power runes. I plan on putting these on my body…"

"Hermione that's dangerous! If you mess even one up-

"I know…which is why I'd like to ask you all to help."

Luna stared at her for a moment.

"There's something else."

"Well…yes. As a back-up…I'm studying the potentials of fusing Alchemy with Rune mastery."

"What would that do?"

"Well, we all know Alchemy at its base is just an advanced form of Potion Making. You take a series of ingredients, and fuse them in the proper way to make something new."

"Like the Philosopher's Stone."

"Exactly. However, it takes far too long to do in battle…"

"So you're proposing we find a way to mix the two…so you can use a rune to gather or summon objects…and then another to quickly fuse them into something…"

"Exactly."

"Well…we've got the rest of the summer…and this room…so why not?!"

"Alright, let's get started then!"

And start they did. For the remaining days leading to their arrival at Hogwarts, the girls studied, analyzed, and activated. They painted nearly Hermione's entire body in black symbols. Loops, streams, spirals, all sorts of random and unusual looking marks covered her body. When they were finished, it required one last thing, an offering of some of her magic.

"Well…here goes nothing…"

She closed her eyes and felt out to her core. During the course of the time spent learning, Luna had taught the others how to sense their own cores. Doing so would make them familiar with their magic, and would teach them how to make it flow freely. This, would allow them to cast more, and stronger spells before they tired, along with having better results.

Hermione pushed some of her magic to the small of her back, where the Core Rune was placed. The black mark flared gold, and all the lines, spirals and loops on her body seemed to do the same, and then become sucked into it. The small dot grew, and changed form. It now resembled a large spiral shape, with squiggly looking lines streaming off of it.

"Y'know…it kinda looks like the Sun."

The girls inquired Beatrice what she meant.

"Well…look at it. A child's drawing of the sun would be a big circle, and a bunch of squiggly lines. On her back is a big _spiral _with a bunch of squiggly lines. It's the Sun."

Hermione pulled on her clothes. "I guess so. Thinking of it that way…it does kinda look like the Sun."

"So how do you feel?"

She closed her eyes. "My god! It's like a supernova in there!"

"Hmm…so your power HAS increased. The Rune will regulate it until your body grows used to it."

"We'd better pack; we go back to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Thank you…all of you."

"Don't mention it. It's our pleasure."

The girls moved to leave, when Luna stopped.

"With that new well of power in you…all you need now is some physical training…and you could quite possibly be a match for at least Beatrice now…if not Me."

Hermione's mouth dropped open in surprise. Luna giggled and then left.

"Well then Miss Lovegood…if its training I need…its training I'll get…"

**

* * *

**

**Hogwarts Castle...**

"Finally…back home…"

"Too true mate…too true."

The group took their respective seats in the Great Hall. The sorting went through, with a smaller group than previously seen before.

"Hey…Harry…who's that?"

Ron pointed to a young man sitting at the Head Table. Long black hair flowed down to the base of his neck, as deep brown eyes stared at the world with an almost bored look. The dark skinned man caught Harry's eye, and nodded in respect.

Harry nodded back unconsciously. "Whoever he is…he didn't react like everyone else."

"What'dya mean?"

"Mostly everyone I've encountered looked at my scar as soon as they recognized me. Our eyes just locked…and he didn't look up once."

"Interesting…"

"Shh! Dumbledore's talking!"

The old man stood to give his usual speech. Nothing of interest was spoken…until he breached the topic of the mysterious person.

"As you may have noticed, we have an unfamiliar face among the teachers. I am most pleased to announce that we will be having a new class, Dueling, this year, taught by mister Zero Shinzaki."

The man raised his hand and flicked it in a semblance of a wave, nodding.

"As for Defense Against the Dark Arts…it will be taught by…well, none other than myself."

The entire school cheered.

"Yes yes…thank you all."

_Dumbledore as Defense Teacher? This will be interesting…_

"And now…prefects lead the first years to your dorm rooms! I wish you all a good night."

The group headed to the Tower, after Harry gave Luna a good night kiss, when they encountered the new Teacher.

(Play Final Fantasy VII AC: For the Reunion)

"So you're Harry Potter."

Harry stood his ground. "Indeed I am Professor."

"Do you have a moment?"

"Err…"

He looked at his friends.

"Your friends can come along as well…" Here he raised his voice. "Along with your girlfriend too."

Harry whirled around to see Luna slink out of the shadows like a panther.

_**Sorry Harry, I sensed him approaching you and didn't know what he was intending…**_

_Wait what? You don't know what his intentions are? But…you're…_

_**I know…he's very well guarded. It's like staring into a void.**_

"It won't take very long. I'd just like to speak with you is all."

Harry nodded.

"Fine then, lead the way."

Oh he led alright. Zero lead straight to the Room of Requirement, something that surprised everyone.

They entered, and took their seats.

"I'll get straight to the point. Your Headmaster wanted me to ask if you were planning on continuing that little Defense Club of yours."

The group stared at each other, confused as to what they should respond with. The light brown skinned man held up a hand.

"You'll soon understand that regardless of reputation, I rarely do favors for people unless I had plans of doing something along those lines anyway. He just ended up giving me an excuse to ask you early."

"Well…I don't know…it would really depend…"

The man smirked. "Depend on my skills as a teacher huh? Don't worry, I'm not offended. In fact I'm impressed."

"Really?"

"Yes…few your age…hell few ANY age decide to truly wait to see someone's skills before they decide on a course of action. Well, the reason I asked is because of the new class I was teaching. One without that much homework. The way I see it you're already at a bloody freaking boarding school, what's the point of giving the students homework…when they aren't GOING home for a long time?"

Before he could control himself, Ron exclaimed. "YES! FINALLY a teacher with a proper head on his shoulders!"

The man smiled and continued. "Indeed. Honestly, the way I see it is a teacher should assign a paper or two every week, maybe a few pages or chapters to study once in a while, and just rely on tests and participation in classes for grades. I mean honestly, if the student truly wants a good grade, they'll do more studying on their own half the time. Large homework assignments are too troublesome, not only does it annoy the living crap out of the students, but it makes far too much paperwork for the teachers as well."

Ron just continued to smile brightly, while the others grinned and shook their heads in disdain.

"Ahh, but I'm getting off track. I actually wanted to ask you, Mister Potter, if you'd be my assistant in the Dueling Class."

Harry looked surprised. "Me? Why me?"

"Well…I'm sorry to say, but…you ARE the Boy-Who-Lived. Though I believe that title is far better earned now that you've faced and held off the 'Dark Lord' Voldemort a few times. Something that many cannot claim. I offer you my sincere condolences on the loss of your family, both maternal, and foster."

Completely shocked, Harry could do little more than nod, and speak his thanks.

"Right then, the Headmaster has also asked me to have Miss Black as my teaching assistant. Something about it being imperative that she be near Mister Potter…but not being able to be classified as a student for some reason…"

The group shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Shinzaki's eyes darkened…and a sphere of pure black energy appeared in his left hand.

"Bloody old coot…I _knew _he was keeping something from me…"

The appearance of such a powerful force made the group lean back.

_**Harry…there's something off about this teacher.**_

_Really…I didn't notice, what with the glowing ball of darkness in his hand._

The teacher clenched his fist, and the ball disintegrated.

"Sorry about that you lot…it just really irks me when people give me an assignment and don't even tell me the complete details. I'm gonna have to have a talk with the old man about this."

Hermione, ever the student, raised her hand. Shinzaki blinked a few times and pointed.

"Yes?"

Hermione realized what she was doing, and blushed slightly, but pressed on.

"Umm…would you mind explaining how you did that?"

"What this?" He summoned another ball of dark energy.

"Yes!"

"Years of training, study, and near death experiences. I have it on good authority that your friend Harry can do something similar, am I correct?"

A shocked look on his face, Harry nodded, and summoned a blue-white crackling sphere. The teacher's eyes widened.

"Oh fuck off! I've been trying to make one of those for months!"

Harry blinked.

"Bloody hell…well then, it just goes to show you _are _the one that's gonna take that snake fucker out aren't you? Bloody fucking hell…"

"Uhh…what are you talking about?"

"What your friend is holding in his hand is the advanced form of what I'm holding. Where mine can launch and strike, his can launch strike, and expand to cover more ground. It's very useful as a surprise attack. I've been trying to get to that level for a while now. I'm sure I'm close, but I've not yet cracked the puzzle."

"Oh…yeah, it has been useful."

"Indeed, I'm sure before this year is over, the whole school will know of your abilities…"

That put them on guard. "Relax, I'm not telling anyone. It's just…well…knowing you can do this now, eventually I'm gonna find some way to pull it out of you. Assistant or not, I CAN call you up to the front, and make a demonstration of wand less magic…"

"Damn…got you there mate."

"Right then…I've gotten the information I needed. You all go on to your common rooms now…I'm going to go have a chat with the Headmaster about a few things…and I'll see you in class."

The group left…but after that they didn't see the man's eyes turn red.

"So…two have access to _that _power…one is borderline…and another…interesting…placing _those _on herself…I wonder…if she'll find the true potential of Alchemy…"

**

* * *

**

**Dream...**

Hermione stood naked in the center of a black void. The runes she placed on her body were active and flashing gold. Suddenly, four bright lights appeared around her. To her left was red…to her right blue, in front of her was purple, and behind was yellow. She looked at them all, wondering what was happening…when they began rotating around her. The lights blurred into a glowing multi-colored ring, which then contracted and slammed into her.

She woke with a start. The backs of her hands were glowing. The glow faded…and she wondered what it all meant.

_I hope I haven't done something I'm not supposed to…_

**

* * *

**

**Days Later...**

"Welcome all of you, to the first but unofficial meeting of the Dueling Class. I am Zero Shinzaki, and I will be one of your multiple instructors. Today…is a demonstration of the true potential that lies within many, if not all of you. My lovely assistant Beatrice will _not _be joining me up here today…since today's activity is of something she has little experience with, but I assure you, later on, you'll be seeing plenty of her."

The Class started without a hitch. Shinzaki's natural charisma, combined with the mystery of him, and his potential, captivated his audience.

"As you can see, I'm holding a sword. Now, it's not a TRUE blade, for mine is secured in my quarters, but a practice one. It can still cause some bruises, and knock you unconscious if you're hit in the right location, but other than that, nothing too damaging. I've asked your Professor Snape to join me in this session, seeing as he is a proclaimed sword master."

Here, Snape sneered at the audience.

"Today we will be having a mock duel, and showing you the more…advanced abilities of swordplay." He turned to Snape. "Rules are no Spells, and first to submit loses. Are these acceptable?"

"Indeed."

"Very well, Miss Black, if you would be so kind."

"Fighters ready? Begin!"

And all hell broke loose.

Snape readied his blade, only to be shocked as Shinzaki smirked at him, and vanished.

Gasps were heard all around, as the Golden Trio, along with Luna and Ginny's eyes narrowed.

There was a quick blur, and Snape moved his blade to his left, barely blocking the strike Shinzaki sent at him. He quickly spun around to block another, and twisted to barely block another. However, he was suddenly struck on his left arm, and then on his right leg, within milliseconds of each other. He found his arm flying up as his weapon was knocked out of his hands, and the wind knocked out of him from a kick to his midsection from Shinzaki. When he recovered, he was on his back, with Shinzaki's blade to his throat.

"And you're dead."

The whole Hall was silent.

"How…"

Shinzaki stepped away, letting the Potion's master pick himself up. He then spoke to the hall.

"What just happened there, was an extremely advanced fighting technique called Shunpo, also known as Flash Step. It combines the user's natural speed with their magic or life energy if you're a muggle, to propel themselves at extremely high speeds. At its slowest, it looks like a blur, at its fastest, the only indication that someone's used it is when the vanish, and any sudden gusts of wind…but even those are unreliable, because you move at such speeds that the wind is always a few seconds after the pass."

"You cheated!"

"How so?"

"You said No Magic!"

"No Professor Snape, I stated no _spells_. I never said that magic was not allowed."

"They're exactly the same!"

"No, they're not. Magic is the force that exists within all wizards. _Spells _are the byproduct of forming magic by fusion of will, incantation, and belief, to create a specified effect."

This sunk in for the students, and for many of the Ravenclaws, their eyes widened in understanding.

"Spells can be restricted, policed, even controlled or stopped. _Magic _is far more difficult to do so. One can use their inner magic to add to their strength, their speed, even their knowledge and understanding. You can stimulate self-healing, or even slow your heart rate. _Spells _require one to expel a certain amount of magic to cause an effect. They are easier or more difficult depending on the person, and the power they have behind it."

"Fine then…let us try this one more time…with _no magic_."

The smirk on Shinzaki's face widened. "Very well." He began bouncing on the tips of his toes, shifting from one foot to another.

"What the devil are you doing?"

"Getting ready."

Beatrice snapped out of her shock and raised her wand.

"Fighters ready? Begin!"

Shinzaki continued bouncing.

"Are you going to dance all day or are you going to fight?"

"Impatient aren't we? Very well…if it's a fight you want…"

He smirked…and vanished again.

This time however, small clouds of dust appeared randomly around Snape. Again, a blur appeared as he barely blocked a strike. Another set of dust clouds, and he blocked another one. This went on for a few minutes until Shinzaki went for an overhead strike, which Snape blocked, again barely. For a few moments, Zero's body was clearly seen by everyone, before he vanished again, and a torrent of dust surrounded Snape.

Suddenly, Snape was kicked into the air where numerous blurs assaulted him, before he was slammed back to the ground, Zero appearing above him, blade at his throat again.

"And again you're dead."

"You…"

"Cheated? Nope." He backed off, and spoke to the crowd.

"That was another advanced move. However it's even more difficult to pull of than the Flash Step. This is called the Shukuchi. It uses pure speed, and insane footwork to confuse your opponent. That wasn't even the complete form of it."

Snape slowly got up.

"Well then, I think I've overloaded everyone's brains enough. Go on, get out of here and rest. Think about this stuff guys, and next time, on the Official first meeting, I'll be teaching you something quite useful. It's a surprise though!"

"Come on guys…Hogsmade weekend tomorrow…"

Hogsmade…a place…where a lot would happen.

* * *

THIS CHAPTER IS SHIT. There I said it. I hate it. It sucks. My thoughts would NOT STAY STRAIGHT. Yes I brought in an OC, but he's not gonna be shown too much. Mostly for theory and the like. I can't do Hogwarts chapters for shit. 

Bonus points for those who can figure out where I'm going with the Hermione thing. Even if you only figure one thing out, you'll still get praise. Cant respond to everyone so I'll just answer any questions…this thing is popular…dammit that puts even more pressure on me…oh well…at least next chapter will have some asskicking to make up for it…

Alorkin: We all have those moments. Luna doesn't exactly have a link with Sirius, but she has a link with Harry, who has a weak but present link with Sirius. It's kinda like a familial link. Luna can sense magical presenses, and occasionally get images of future events. When Sirius returned, his return, combined with the unorthodox way he did it, sent a pulse along the River of Time, which she is rather sensitive to. She felt his return through that, and her link to Harry. Hermione will have a VERY active and very FUN role in the next chapter…I'm actually having fun writing her the way I like.

GinnyLover14: Ehh, I'm not that big a fan of Hermione. She lied for the two of them because she was desprate for friends, and they just saved her life. Honestly she could have told the truth, and the same result would have happened. Really, it made her seem like she was being overconfident, which she wasn't. In honesty, if you look at it from a different angle, it shows she wanted to puff her self up more, make herself seem more important than she really was, especially after she bawled her eyes out after what Ron said. Now, if she said that a slytherin insulted her, and she was rather distressed about it, and the troll came along and they saved her, THAT would be lying for them. Seeing as she was in that situation because Ron was a prat. Honestly she's loyal because he and Ron are her only real friends. Ginny's a friend but not as close. She clings to those two because they were her FIRST friends, and, like Harry, she doesn't want to lose them, though she's come close many times. Canon her is WAY too bossy for her own good, and too full of herself, and to blindingly trusting of teachers and authority figures. Tis why I wished Rowling would take her down a peg or two, just to show she's not as awesome as she believes she is…though with Luna around, that kinda levels the playing field.

MiFo71: Beatrice will gain a connection like that with Harry later on, Hermione…might not…but knowing her, she'll find a way.

Dragen Ranger: Just gonna be Harry, Luna, Hermione and Bella.

Shawn Pickett: Oh it will be a Harry, Luna, Beatrice…only Hermione will be thrown in for fun.

Alright…damn there's a lot of you…I cant answer everyone at once here…so I'll start using the Review Reply thingamabob more often. But for questions I'll answer in the chapters as well, since most of those are pretty important information.

Hoo boy…Alchemy, Explosions, and Hermione's new powers in the next chapter. Hermione fans, this one…I think you'll like.


	11. Tenken

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter X: Tenken**

**Dream…**

She was floating in the blackness again. A world void of anything but dark. That is…until four glowing orbs appeared. They formed a ring around her…a ring that turned into a spiral shape.

_That's the…_

The spiral pulsed gold, looking like a Sun. She heard a noise…

_Is that…clapping?_

The spiral flared gold again, and she awoke.

**Somewhere in the Castle…**

Zero Shinzaki, teacher of the Dueling Class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sat in a cross legged position on the ground. Beneath him was a glowing glyph. In front of him hovered a golden crystal. Suddenly, the crystal flared with light. It continued for a few moments, and then faded. He opened his eyes, glowing red.

"Well…it looks like she succeeded. We'll have to reward her…"

The Hogsmade trip went normally…well, other than a minor mishap where Hermione temporarily gagged on her pumpkin juice at breakfast.

"It's nothing, really. It probably just went down the wrong pipe is all."

The others accepted that reasoning, and the day continued.

At least…it was fine…until it happened.

(Play Naruto- Orochimaru's Theme)

Death Eaters appeared out of nowhere. There had to be at least a hundred of them. They fired spells left and right, ranging from severing to killing. The townsfolk fought back as best they could, but their efforts were for naught. Those who had joined the DA the year before faired a tad bit better, but for every one they stunned, two more would take their place. Harry and Luna were about to let loose…when a voice that sent chills down everyone's spines rang out.

"Death Eaters, halt!"

The masked people froze in what they were doing immediately. Voldemort himself had come out to play.

"Citizens of Hogsmade…as your soon to be lord and master…I present to you…a gift."

He raised his arms above his head, incanting in an ancient tongue. The ground beneath them shuffled and buckled, then cracked open as melted corpses appeared from the holes.

Harry whispered in shock. "Zombies…he summoned bloody fucking zombies…"

But that wasn't all. At least half of the corpses materialized armor and blades.

"This is bad…REAL bad…"

Immediately the Order appeared, Sirius included.

"Ahh, Dumbledore…how good to see you. Pity I can't stay. Have fun with my present!" And Voldemort left. He didn't flee, he didn't even hurry. He just vanished, leaving his Death Eaters, and newly raised Undead to the village.

The Death Eaters hung back, deciding not to get involved for the moment. Dumbledore lead the assault against the monsters…but to no avail. Again, Harry and Luna were about to cut loose…when something unexpected happened. Snape fired a killing curse at one of the monsters, but it simply bent back and evaded. However the curse continued on. Time seemed to slow. Everyone watched as it sped towards Ron.

He couldn't move. He saw the green light of death, heard the incantation, and knew what would happen if he was hit…but he couldn't move. He was paralyzed with fear. Suddenly a blur of bushy brown hair shot into view in front of him.

_Dear god…please…PLEASE let me be able to help!_

The sound from her dream rang through her mind, and unconsciously, her body slammed her palms together, clapping. She felt a small spark of energy suddenly shoot through her like a circuit…and she slammed her hands on the ground.

A pillar of stone shot up in front of her, the curse slamming into it and dissipating.

(Play Atelier Iris 3: Dance of the Spirits)

The stone crumbled and she stood up, looking at her hands. Everyone was staring at her…even the zombies.

It all became clear to her. The dreams, the golden glow of her runes…the sudden ability to summon a pillar of stone…

"Alchemy…"

Another Death Eater fired a killing curse, this time at her, but she stared in determination. _I am NOT weak! I'm NOT just a bookworm! I can fight…and dammit I'm going to kick some ass!_

She clapped her hands again, and thrust her right one to the ground, calling up another wall of stone to block the attack. The wall crumbled, and she clapped again, this time holding her left out as if gripping something. The particles of dust and dirt in the air solidified, glowing gold. She swung her arm at the Death Eaters, and hundreds of spears of glowing light, transmutated from the particles of dust and dirt, rained forth upon them.

Everyone was shocked, so much that nobody could react at first. Some of the Death Eaters snapped out of it in time to put up shields that blocked them from being hit, but a good amount of them didn't have time to. The spears shot through them as if they were paper. Blood splattered upon the ground. Blood that immediately was absorbed, something few noticed.

The others took that as a sign to attack. Harry and Luna nodded at each other, deciding to use some of their powers, but only as normal spells. They both fired rounds of blasting and cutting hexes and most of the others did the same. When a green light would appear, Luna or Harry would appear in front of the recipient, call up their AT fields for a moment to cancel it out, and then returned to attacking.

Unknown to her, the spiral seal on her back was glowing golden as Hermione kept up her assaults. Clapping her hands again, she slammed both palms into the ground, causing spears of earth to rise into the air beneath some of the monsters, impaling and killing them again.

Harry and Luna stood back to back, slowly circling each other, skillfully sweeping out any groups of monsters that dared attack, along with the occasional random Death Eater. Beatrice was running from spot to spot on the rooftops, sniping down some of the easily miss able targets. She kept it low grade, not using anything _too _dark.

Eventually, after a lot of spell fire, and some damage, the Death Eaters were all but felled, and the monsters were no more. The remaining citizens cheered as the Death Eaters fled.

But then the Death Eaters stopped. Luna, being the most sensitive to magical forces out of everyone, even Harry, felt it first. A pulse of dark energy. The ground rumbled as more monsters appeared, these wearing dark Blue armor. Two hulking beasts of creatures, looking deceptively pig-like, appeared, brandishing spiked black clubs covered in dried blood.

Finally, one giant snakelike monster appeared. It had leathery wings on the back of a distinctly humanoid torso, two clawed arms, and green scales. A glowing blue eye in the center of its forehead as well.

"**I am Fortenbras! Ruler of the Demon World, come to destroy this pathetic land!"**

Nothing phased these new creatures. Not even Harry's expanding spheres. Not even Dumbledore's most powerful spells did much. The monster commanded his army to attack. The light side braced itself…when AGAIN something unexpected happened.

"_Mikazukigata Kiru!"_

A crescent shaped wave of blue energy shot from the direction of the castle and slammed into a large chunk of the monsters, slaying them instantly.

"**Who dares…"**

(Play Atelier Iris 3: Rain of Blossoms)

"Professor Shinzaki!"

"So…Fortenbras…I see you came back."

"**You…Interfering with Mortal ties again?"**

"Meh, I got bored. Plus, one of these Mortals found one of my lost books of Alchemy. Can't exactly have that power wielded uncontrolled now can I?"

"**You won't stand a chance this time Tenken! I WILL kill you, and claim this land as mine once again!"**

"Right…"

Zero Shinzaki stood with a katana in its sheath, strapped to his waist. He pulled out a string, and tied his hair back into a ponytail.

"Zero, what are you doing? What is going on here?"

"Can it old man. You're up against something that even Voldemort would have a hard time dealing with. You stay back and lick your wounds. Only four people here can even _touch _this guy, and you're not one of them."

He placed his right hand in front of him, two fingers extended and focused. A ring of blue glowing blades appeared around him. He pointed at a group of monsters.

"Ame no Ken!"

The swords shattered and then a rain of blue light shot down from the sky, blades impaling many of the creatures.

While this was happening, he vanished, and reappeared in front of Hermione.

"Well Miss Granger…it seems you found one of my books."

She stepped back in surprise, and a bit of fear. His eyes were glowing red. Harry and the others rushed to her, only to watch as Zero slammed a glowing golden orb into her back. She screamed in surprise and a bit of pain as the orb was absorbed by her rune.

Everyone pulled their wands.

"What did you do to her?!"

"Nothing that won't help in the long run Potter. Now shut up and pay attention. Consider this a lesson."

He stepped in front of Hermione and placed his right hand on the hilt of his blade. "In a few minutes…you're going to help me kill that thing once and for all, got it Granger?"

She looked at him, clutching her chest as foreign energy coursed through her body, the rune on her back pulsing in tune with her heart.

"That little trick you can pull…can do more than just insane transmutations"

She stared in questioning, but couldn't speak before he vanished again. He appeared as nothing but a blur, dust pillars erupting wherever he moved, slicing through the monsters like they were nothing, when their spells did little.

Slowly…her body was adapting to the change, and her mind was recalling information she never knew.

"Tsukuyomi no Mai!"

His form flickered, and six shadowy copies of him appeared. They all targeted certain monsters and assaulted them with a hail of swordplay.

"Well…if there's one good thing about him…he knows what to do in a tense situation."

"Indeed he does Alastor…indeed he does…"

The form that wasn't shadowed flickered into view next to Hermione again.

"Fire, Ice or Lightning. Pick an element that's easiest for you to cast and stick with it. Make sure it's a strong spell though; normal and weaker spells barely phase these things. When they're messed up enough, Exploding or Severing hexes work wonders. Granger, get your head together quick, I might need some backup on the big guy."

He hopped to the side and whipped out his wand.

"_Amaterasu!_"

A series of black flaming lances shot from his wand and impacted many of the monsters. They shrieked loudly as the flames quickly burnt them to ash.

The group was shocked.

"Inward spiral with a jab at the center. Incantation is Amaterasu. It's only usable by those with an affinity to Fire, Darkness, or both, so Black, Potter, its right up your alley. Takes a good bit of concentration to use. Stick with small bursts for now."

He flickered again, this time a steady stream of dust reaching to another group of creatures. Harry looked at Beatrice and she shrugged. They stepped forward and faced a group of monsters charging them. They twirled their wands in an inward spiral as they were instructed, and jabbed at their opponents.

"_Amaterasu!_"

Three small jets of black flame shot from their wands and impacted the creatures, turning them to ash almost immediately. Beatrice fell to her knees, shaking.

"He didn't tell us that was Dark Magic!"

That got Dumbledore to raise his eyes.

Hermione watched her Teacher weave through sword strikes, and easily retaliate. She flicked her eyes to the snake-like beast. It was just standing there, waiting. She watched Shinzaki swing his arms, and she saw a shimmering blue glow just as a hail of icicles rained down upon some of the strange armored creatures. He then turned, and a red glow seemed to surround him as a pillar of flame shot into the air from where he pointed, engulfing another group.

It dawned on her. "Is that…Alchemy as well?"

She closed her eyes and thought. In her mind she saw a glowing Golden light, in the shape of her spiral rune. Again, her body moved on its own. She clapped her hands together. Everyone, even the monsters, seemed to turn to her from the sound.

_I need…something…he's been using blades…so a blade would work…I need a sword…a big one…made of energy…something that could explode as well as sever…_

She slowly pulled her palms apart, a yellow orb crackling in between her hands. She raised the orb above her head. It slowly formed into a glowing jeweled, GIGANTIC broadsword.

_A name…it needs a name…_

She opened her eyes, not noticing that the rune on her back had activated, and the shapes she and the girls had traced on her body were slowly becoming defined. She said one word…a word that shifted the tide of battle in their favor.

"_**Ragnarok**_"

She threw her arms down, as if she were trying to slam them on the air itself, and the sword hurled itself, propelled by her will, into the largest group of enemies she targeted. It slammed into the ground, almost digging its way in, before it exploded in a shower of golden light, the explosion killed many, and horribly damaged those it didn't.

She stared in awe at the devastation.

_No longer just a Bookworm._

A group of monsters charged at her. Many were beat back by fire spells, or severing and exploding hexes, but as some made it through, words flashed through her mind.

"_There are three steps to transmutation, the advanced form of alchemy. Understanding, Decomposing and Reconstructing. Some of the more skilled alchemists can use this knowledge to ignore the Reconstruction step, and just Decompose, reducing a subject to its base particles. This is a rarely used ability, since it's more likely that they need to transform one thing into another."_

One of the monsters leapt at her, Luna and the others called out in fear, but she was moving on auto-pilot. She ducked out of the way of the slash, and clapped her hands. She hopped and shoved her left into the monster's face, and before it could react, a golden light, accompanied by similarly colored sparks erupted from her hand, and caused the thing's skull to explode. She spun on her feet, clapped her hands again, and called forth a smaller blade of energy, shoving it into a monster's chest, before clapping again. In a feat of acrobatics nobody knew she could perform, she back flipped, slamming her hands into the ground, instructing what she wanted to happen.

As she sprung off her hands, the ground rippled and hundreds of thorned vines shot from the earth and impaled the creatures. She clapped again, and slammed her palms on the one spot that didn't have blade-like thorns, setting the vines on fire. The flames raced along the plants, and into the monsters, burning them to ash.

_This is a power different from magic. This is a power of logic, of science…but it's possible __**because **__of magic…the perfect ability for a muggleborn like me…_

She realized what she had just done.

_Huh…looks like it WAS a good thing I took those gymnastic classes as a child._

Zero flickered into view next to her. She was about to clap again, to deal with the threat, when she grabbed one of her arms before she could.

"Easy there Granger."

She flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Looks like you figured it out. Good."

Nearly all the creatures had been wiped out. All that remained was the leader, Fortenbras.

"**You have done well Tenken…it will be a pleasure to kill you."**

"It probably will be…pity you won't be the one to do it."

As he said this, he began taking off his robes, until he was left bare chested, in front of everyone. He was built. Not horribly buff, but enough muscle to have something to show, much like Harry.

"DAMN!"

Tonks let out an exclamation of surprise.

However, Hermione noticed a mark on his back, right between his shoulder blades. A BIG one.

"A Celtic cross…" Her eyes widened as she recalled something he said.

"_Meh, I got bored. Plus, one of these Mortals found one of my lost books of Alchemy. Can't exactly have that power wielded uncontrolled now can I?"_

_Don't tell me…HE wrote…_

(Last Song: Play Ninja Gaiden XBOX: Alma Awakened)

"Now you'll see…"

The mark glowed red, and then extended. The four points of the cross created a diamond like shape around the inner circle. Wavy lines wriggled around from the tips of the diamond, coiling around his arms and creating strange looking patterns on his stomach. The coiled pattern looked much like a snake, only it ended at the center of the back of his hands, and then split into three thick lines that reached in between his ring, middle, pointer, and pinky, making the shape look like a claw.

The lines on his chest reached up to form an X like shape, as another set appeared on his face. On his forehead, a big infinity symbol glowed, as two slash marks appeared down his eyes, reaching down his cheeks. Many gasped as they'd never seen such a transformation…however, Hermione, Luna, Beatrice, Ginny, and Tonks had. It was very similar to what would happen to Hermione, if she were to activate the rune on her back.

The symbols stopped glowing, and became black again.

"Why they call me the Tenken."

He vanished. No flicker, just one instant he was there, the next gone.

**BOOM**

They heard the demon beast roar in pain. Suddenly a torrent of dust shot from where Zero once stood.

"DAMN! He moved _that _fast?!"

All they could see was a streak of light flashing around the monster as it swung at the smaller being. Torrents of purple flames would shoot out of the monster's mouth, followed by gales of lightning, and waves of pure energy. However Zero dodged it all. Jumping over another shockwave, he ran along the monster's back, and slashed off one of its wings. It roared in agony, and backhanded him. He hit the ground, but as soon as he touched it, he vanished again.

"Now…why isn't _he _the one fighting Voldemort again?"

"I dunno Harry…I dunno."

"My word…I can't even see his movements! Just a flash of light!"

"I can't sense him either. It's almost like he's not even there…"

He suddenly appeared in their view, flying backward. He glowed a solid green, and moments later, a twister of green energy engulfed the demon king. Its razor winds slashed at the monster fiercely. He glowed red, and an infinity symbol appeared around the monster, and suddenly turned into a gigantic ball of roaring flame.

Zero vanished again, glowing purple before he did, and a giant lightning bolt slammed into the beast from the heavens. It remained for a few moments, before vanishing, as if nothing had even happened.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Hermione saw it all. He was drawing things in the air as he glowed. _That last one…he just drew a jagged line…and BOOM there was the lightning! Is this Alchemy too? Or is this…something else entirely?_

She watched as he glowed a frost blue, watching as he created an X in the air, and then drew a vertical line through it. As soon as he lowered his arm, the drawing turned into a giant snowflake that appeared over the demon's head. A hail of icicles crashed down on it immediately afterward.

That was when Harry noticed. An orb of light surrounded the demon…and suddenly shattered. No matter how much damage Zero did to it, Fortenbras regenerated. It was slow, but it still happened.

Hermione saw it too.

"Harry…do you think…"

"Against something that strong? I don't think so…"

"We have to try!"

"We?"

"I have an idea."

She clapped her hands together, the noise distracting Zero, which allowed Fortenbras to slam him into the ground.

She ran to Harry's side as he raised his arm, golden bracelet shining. She placed both hands on the bracelet, and focused on channeling the Deconstruction part of Alchemy into it. It wasn't the bracelet itself she was focusing on, but the power within it.

The golden beam of light shot from the bracelet and pierced the demon. The monster screeched and screeched, horribly pained by the action as rings of golden energy surrounded it, taking away his regeneration abilities. Suddenly all the wounds it took ripped open at once.

"**N-No!"**

Zero flickered. Suddenly he appeared in front of the monster…then behind it, then next to it…within seconds; hundreds of Zero Shinzaki's were racing around the demon, all flickering. Each one delivered a devastating slash to its body. The monster jerked around like a punching bag being assaulted by multiple people. Suddenly, it felt a devastating uppercut to its fanged mouth.

"Kore de owari da!"

Zero appeared in mid air, far above the monster. The demon's back arced as the momentum from the strike sent it into the air.

A crackling sphere of dark lightning appeared in Shinzaki's right hand. He had it pointed down at the monster, his left hand gripping his right wrist to stabilize the attack.

The Dueling teacher rocketed down, the sound of crackling electricity following his descent.

"**Infinitia…"**

He slammed his energy charged fist into the monster's midsection, and tore through it like a knife, severing the creature in two.

"_**STRIKE!"**_

He slammed into the ground…and a pillar of black light shot into the sky…and then exploded, engulfing the entirety of the gigantic beast.

When the dust cleared, the marks were receding back into the Cross on his back.

He walked over to the group, grabbed his robes, shrugged on the jacket portion, slung the shirt over his shoulder, put his blade back in its sheath and walked off.

"I'll be in the Room of Requirement…should you require me."

He chuckled at his own bad joke and flickered again. A small wave of dust emanated from where he once stood.

"Bloody Hell! And to think we're being TAUGHT by that guy!"

The others could only dumbly nod in agreement.

* * *

WOOHOO! After a difficult start I finally got out what I wanted to! Who is the mysterious and EXCESSIVELY powerful Zero Shinzaki?! Those who have an account here, PM me with your guesses! Don't wanna spoil it for anyone in case you're right!

Points go to those who can figure out what Games/Anime were shown in this chapter! Here are some hints. One has you playing as a living god!

Aries Drake: Shunpo did indeed come from Bleach, as Shukuchi came from Seta Sojirou from Rurouni Kenshin.

Dragen Ranger: I don't know much about the real life art of alchemy, other than it DOES exist…kinda like advanced chemistry if I remember right. _Other _forms of alchemy…well it depends on the _medium_ if you catch my drift. PM me with the _source _of alchemy you're talking about, there's a few, both anime and game.

Wonder Bee: Were you right? I won't say till next chapter what it was.

D&S Master: You might be right, you might be wrong, I won't say here…I wanna give people one more shot.

Alorkin: Many people think it was good; I only don't because it doesn't seem to fit the flow of my other chapters. They all had the right themes down, except for the Sirius returns one…but I guess it turned out alright. Go ahead and take the idea if you want, I originally got the marking ideas from Sasuke's Curse Seal in Naruto…but added my own spin to it, just be sure to credit both me and Naruto for the idea. And yeah, she did take a major chance…but people do foolish things when they're in love. The red eyes and Luna's caution will be explained next chapter. Maybe you can figure it out before hand though…I dare say after seeing the effects of Harry's bracelet; Snape won't be testing the boy's patience any time soon.

SwiftShadow: Kenshin it is!

Quizer: SHH!! We don't want to ruin the surprise! You're good, very good.

TricaLee: if you say so…I still think it could have been better…

The French Dark Lord: that's good to know. Keep reading!

Shawn Pickett: I don't think she'd naturally have above average power. Average at best, but a VERY large selection of spells to choose from, because she does so much studying. Not sure if I covered this with you or not (if I did, feel free to ignore the next few statements) but remember that they weren't originally friends. Hell they didn't even like her. It wasn't until the troll showed up that they became friends, and even then she made herself sound more important by saying that she went looking for it. When she could have simply said someone insulted her dearly, and it showed up when she was recovering. It's still lying, but it makes her more of an equal than someone who believed she was superior, because that's what she did, made herself sound like she was superior for looking for it, even though it was stupid.

When they all became friends, she immediately took control. Ron's too ignorant to notice many important things, and Harry's not very likely to object unless it's something that REALLY grates on him, because he's never HAD friends before. So already she was able to weave them around her little finger. Then comes in the "loyalty." Sure, a bit of that may have been actual loyalty out of friendship, but the majority of it was more than likely due to the fact that other than Ginny, and Ron and Harry, _she had no other friends._ She's too bossy for anyone to want to talk to her other than to get information from her, and too stuck up, much like Percy, to really be that FUN to hang around. She's even down right MEAN to Luna, insulting her beliefs to her face, just because there's no "logic" in them. She's always on Harry's case about "respecting the Professors" even when said teachers gave no reason for respect. She outright IGNORES anyone that says anything against what she does, and was SO full of herself; she filled her schedule in THIRD YEAR to the brim, to the point where she had to get a Time Turner issued. Her lust for Knowledge is borderline psychotic, hell, if she DID have above average power, she'd have most likely become the first Dark Lady!

She's bossy, insulting, and downright mean at times, when she doesn't need to be. She's controlling, manipulative, and quite assholic as well. Problem was, nobody wanted to put her in her place. Harry could have shoved it in her face that Dobby was the ONLY one cleaning Gryffindor Tower because of her. She completely ignored that Kreacher was literally EVIL, and because she didn't let Harry actually kill the prick, or even scare the bastard, the elf willingly led Harry into a trap.

She's too narrow minded. With her, if it's not in a book, it doesn't exist. If it IS in a book, it's exactly as the book says. Even when it's CLEARLY different than what was written. She's got far too many problems to be worth hanging around. I can assure you, if she was real, her ass would be SO grass if I ever had to deal with her for more than a few days. She has potential, but it's wasted. Which is why I like MY version of Hermione. Harry went and shut her up, and she actually THOUGHT outside of books. Now, she's all but dating him. If she'd take time to think about HER flaws, instead of pointing out everyone else's, I'd like her more.

DAMN that was a rant.

Alright, Translation time!

Ame no Ken: Rain of Blades

Tsukuyomi no Mai: Dance of the Moon Goddess

Mikazukigata Kiru: Crescent Slash

Amaterasu: Sun Goddess (Japanese Religion)

"Kore de owari da: This is the end

OMAKE!!!!

"**I AM FORTENBRAS!"**

Before anyone could react, Luna shot a spell at a wall. Floating out of the dust came ten black bras. She levitated them over to the Snakelike creature. He studied them for a moment, and then grabbed them.

"**Thank you Mortal. This is exactly what I was looking for. COME MY MINIONS!"**

With that, the…thing…vanished.

"What…the hell just happened here?"

"He SAID he came for Ten Bras…"

Harry smacked his forehead. "Only you Luna…only you…"

I've been waiting FOREVER to throw something like that in. Oh yeah, Tonks' "DAMN" is pronounced "Day-um" kinda like how a black person would say it. Quick like a gunshot…just "DAYUM!" (I happen to be black by the way, so I have Anti-Racism Speech + 10 automatically).


	12. Identity

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter XI: Meddling with Mortal Affairs!**

**Zero's Identity Revealed.**

(Play Devil May Cry 3: Reunion)

**Hogwarts Castle: Room of Requirement**

The Order of the Phoenix, along with Beatrice, Harry, Luna, Ginny, Ron and Hermione entered the already visible door. They walked through only to find a beautiful field surrounded by Sakura blossom trees. They were awed at the sheer beauty of the area. The sounds of birds and animals roaming added to the illusion that they were truly walking through a section of the far east.

"Amazing…all this…contained in one little room."

As the group reached the exact center of the clearing, a blur moved from shadow to shadow, behind the trees. Harry slowly departed from the group, mesmerized by the wondrous landscape. As soon as he was far enough there was a flash of light, and suddenly the Sakura trees had caught fire.

"What the hell?"

Moments later a beam of light erupted from where Harry stood. The beam turned into a cylinder field of energy that formed a barrier…keeping Harry in, and the others out.

"HARRY!"

Hermione clapped her hands and sent a spear of earth at the wall, as Luna launched a powerful sphere of light from her wand. Both impacted, but did nothing. The field had a light blue color to it, and held strange looking symbols within its walls. It was transparent enough for them to easily see Harry, but he couldn't see them.

(DMC 3: Vergil Battle 2)

Suddenly, there was a flicker of motion, and Harry threw his hands up, summoning his personal field to protect him. A figure slammed into the field, holding a blade, struggling against it.

"Professor Shinzaki?!"

Indeed, Zero bounced off the field and landed on his feet, smirking.

"So you _do _have one…"

He sheathed his blade. "Let's see what you can do."

He vanished.

Harry reacted a split second before the impact, and another barrier blocked Zero's blade, just barely. He flickered again, only to attack, slamming into it from above.

"Not bad…you've got a strong defense…"

Surprisingly, Harry was growing weary from the numerous assaults. _What the hell? This shouldn't be happening…I'm calling up my Field just before each strike to minimize energy usage…and yet I'm still being drained…is he THAT powerful?_

Zero dashed in for another strike, meeting the barrier, as expected. He bounced back and twirled his blade expertly before sheathing it. Hermione scoffed. "Show off…"

He smirked and began to glow as his hands blurred. Hermione's eyes widened. She saw everything. She watched as he pulled out his wand and traced three horizontal lines in the air, each one stacked above the other. A half second later, a glowing green symbol appeared in front of him, as a gale of razor sharp wind appeared around Harry. He called up his Field again, hoping to block the attack. For ten seconds he was held in the vortex. Ten seconds that felt like an eternity. When the vortex stopped, he dropped to his knees, panting.

"Come on, don't tell me that's all you got."

He slashed his wand twice, making two vertical lines in the air. A glowing blue symbol appeared and it began to rain in the cylinder.

Harry was drenched, as was the ground beneath him. He shook the water out of his hair and wiped his eyes…only to see Zero smirk and do a series of back-flips onto the "wall" of the barrier. Harry was puzzled.

Hermione figured it out first. She watched in horror as Zero glowed again.

"HARRY! MOVE!"

Harry whirled to where Hermione's voice came from. "What?!"

Zero drew a jagged line. From the heavens dropped a moderately sized lightning bolt which slammed into the ground, electrifying both the floor, and Harry.

"AAAAAHHH!!!"

"**HARRY!"**

The bolt vanished, and Harry dropped to his knees, smoking.

"I guess you're not as good as I thought."

Zero frowned at the Boy-Who-Just-Got-Fried.

Harry glared at him, and suddenly in his mind he saw an image of an exploding sphere.

Zero stopped moving. _Did someone just use a psychokinetic power?_

Harry summoned one of his energy spheres, and hurled it at Zero. The tan skinned man prepared to bat it aside when he noticed Harry leveling his wand right at him.

_Wait…he's not aiming at me…he's aiming at the-_

"EXPULSO!"

_Oh SHI-_

**BOOM!!**

A gray light shot from Harry's wand and slammed into the sphere, causing it to release a massive explosion.

The blast was so powerful, it broke the field. Harry fell back to his hands and knees after the barrier was destroyed, as the others, led by Luna, Hermione and Beatrice ran to him.

"HARRY! Harry are you alright?"

"Ow…yeah…I think so…"

"Dammit old man! What the HELL is your fucking damage hiring someone like that?!"

"I…I didn't think he would attack Mister Potter…"

Suddenly, laughter rang out through the field.

"Hahahaha! Damn! I did **not **see _that _one coming!"

(Play Chrono Cross: Garden of the Gods)

The smoke from the explosion cleared, and standing before them…was a barely scratched Zero.

"I didn't know you could do that one Potter. I can't believe I got beat by a standard Shock Rifle combo…"

Hermione and Beatrice glared at him.

"What's you're problem?! Attacking Harry like that?!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch Granger, it was a test. One that he passed, surprisingly."

He looked over to the group of Order members.

"Sup Sirius?"

Sirius blinked. "I know you?"

"Oh that's right…you wouldn't recognize me like this…" He started walking forward, as he did there was a flash of light…and not only was the area restored to its previous state…but Zero was now wearing a black cloak…

"Xenmaru?!"

"Didn't think you'd see me again did you?"

Everyone was shocked. Dumbledore's mouth dropped.

"You…you're the Dream Lord Xenmaru?"

"Well, right now I'm the Mercenary; Shinigami Xenmaru, but you're close enough."

"Then who is Zero Shinzaki?"

"Me. Well, it was my name before I became Shinigami Xenmaru, and then Dream Lord Xenmaru."

"But…why did you attack Harry?"

"Like I said, it was a test. One that he surprisingly passed. He was able to stand up to a good bit of my strength, almost 3/4ths of my full. I didn't think his defenses would be that good…and that Shock Combo…I DEFINITELY didn't see that coming."

"Shock Combo?"

"In another universe there's a tournament held by a really REALLY fucked in the head company. Warriors from all over that universe gather together to be crowned the best. There's a weapon they use called a Shock Rifle. Its primary shot fires a small, instant beam of purple light. Its secondary fires a slower but stronger ball of purple electrified energy. However it has a special ability. If you were to fire the secondary shot, and then fire the primary right at the secondary, it would create a pretty big explosion that would do a massive amount of damage. The fact that Potter was able to pull a rendition of that threw me for a loop."

"It…just came to me…in my head. I saw an image of it."

"Yeah I thought I picked up some psychokinetic shit going on. Someone wanted you to use that move. But whatever, you passed."

"Harry…do you realize what this means?"

He blinked.

"You took on a God and WON!"

"I wouldn't say that…"

They all looked at Zero again. "More like he took on a mid-level deity in a weakened form and managed to surprise me and made me lose my concentration. If I was in my normal state, or even fighting at full power in this weaker form, he'd not have stood a chance. But with that considered, he still did pretty good."

"Xen, why are you here anyway?"

He plopped down on the ground.

"Make yourselves comfortable, this might take a bit."

Everyone sat.

"One of my fellow Deities, one of the three Triplets of Fate, Clotho, showed me that someone had allowed Fortenbras, the Demon Lord to return. Now originally the snake fuck was killed by a man named Akechi Samanosuke, a samurai warrior graced by the Oni clan of Deities. Buuut…some idiot fucked with the time stream and brought Fortenbras back. So Clotho sent me here to head off his return, seeing as he was lured to this universe by Voldemort's little demon summoning ritual. HOW Voldemort managed to pull that off is something I don't know…so I'm sticking around to find out."

"Can't you just off Voldemort for us?"

"I could…if he wasn't bound by Prophecy. The Fates protect those who are bound by Prophecy. The best I could do is destroy his current body, and buy you guys time…but that'd just be delaying the inevitable. I've seen the string that connects Harry and Voldemort. When the time comes to take him out, you'll know."

Hermione jumped in. "You said you left behind Alchemy books?"

"When did I-oh yeah, I did. Yeah you found one of them. The idea came from yet ANOTHER universe…I did a bit of studying there in one of my incarnations. By the way, how's that seal of yours doing?"

"It's fine…but how did you know…"

"I could sense it…like I said; your seal is that of the Golden Sun, a VERY powerful artifact in the world of Alchemy. Stronger than even the Philosopher's Stone."

"Impossible. The Philosopher's Stone-

"Grants the user the Elixir of Life and can transmute any metal into gold, I know. The Golden Sun trumps that a thousand fold. It can grant near god like powers AND immortality to the one who wields it. Not to mention unfathomable control over the elements of nature. Hermione lucked out with that one, not only can she do crazy transmutations, but she can whip out some serious elemental damage as well."

"I…I'm immortal?"

"Ehh, technically. It depends on how you put it. If you wanna be immortal from unnatural death, meaning you can't be killed, then you're safe from that. If you wanna be immortal from natural death, you're safe from that. But you can only pick one, and once you make your choice, you can't go back."

"So…if I chose to survive unnatural deaths…"

"You'll still die of old age…and maybe some diseases, I'm not too clear on that part…but you'll never die from the hands of another."

"Well…I think we know which one she's picking."

"But…what about those drawings? Were they alchemy too?"

"You could see them?"

"Yes…should I not be able to?"

"Well…not really…I guess it just means you're already tuning into your power."

Luna nodded. "I could see them as well…only…their meaning was lost to me."

"They were…a gift…"

He lowered his head. "A gift from a wonderful girl…"

"I'm sorry…should I not have asked?"

"Nahh, it's alright…just hard to think of sometimes. Her name was Lynn, she was an Artist. She could draw like nobody's business…not bad at poetry either. I met her in one of my human incarnations. It's a deity thing, after a while we choose someone to temporarily reign over our land and duties and re-incarnate into a human form…a bonus for being selected as a deity. We get to re-live our lives in another world. The conditions that we live in are always random though…in that life I was one of few people who had access to any form of supernatural ability. I gave her some of my power, and she gained the ability to turn her sketches and drawings into reality. She was killed…when that world was seized by a rogue Deity…in her death, she gave me her remaining power…so I got a bastardized version of her Artistry. Depending on what I inscribe, and where, a different effect happens. I tend to lean more on the attacking ones though, Elemental manipulation."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright. It was during an incarnation that happened a long time ago. So it's not as bad now…I haven't seen her since though…so I'm guessing she got reincarnated immediately. Dunno exactly how that works, I tend to daze over the details whenever Death talks about it."

Ginny clapped her hands together. "So, what's our-

A bright sky blue flash of light cut off her sentence.

"What the-

A glowing orb shot out of Zero's chest, and tried to leave the room, when Zero clenched his fist, creating a cage of air around it.

"Whoa, hold on a sec, where's the fire?"

The orb flared with light.

"A host? In this world? Is that even possible?"

It flared again.

"Hurt? Hurt how?"

The orb pulsed.

"WHAT?! They didn't-

It dimmed.

"Oh good…but they got an eyeful? Sick fucks…"

It flared again.

"Romania? Geez, you think you can get that far in such a short amount of time?"

It dimmed.

"Didn't think so. Tell you what, I'll open a Mist Warp, you shoot through and find your host. I'll track you after I do a bit of research. You said she's near the Dragon Reserve?"

That made the Weasely's heads shoot up. The sphere pulsed again.

"Alright alright, sheesh, keep your panties on, gods…"

He turned to the Order and blinked at the attentiveness of the Weaselys.

"I guess you know what she's talking about then."

"Our son, Charlie, works in a Dragon Reserve in Romania…"

"Ahh, lets hope it's the same one then. Mind if I peek into your head for a sec? I can't open a warp unless I at least have an image in mind…"

Molly shook her head. Zero began to glow a soft purple as rings of light surrounded him. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

"Thanks."

He closed his eyes, and in front of the group, a giant mirror with a mark in the center appeared in front of him. He glowed purple again, and slashed his wand in an X shape. There was a fierce white glow from the mirror, and a swirling vortex appeared.

"I'll give you a couple days head start, you make sure she's alright…"

The sphere flared brightly and shot into the vortex. The warp hole closed, and the mirror vanished.

"Was that…"

"Another Artistry technique? Yeah, it's called Mist Warp. You gotta have a specific object that's compatable if you wanna conserve energy, that and a picture of where you're going. It's an offset of the Veil of Mist technique, which temporarily creates a dome of energy that cuts the speed of anything other than the caster within it in half. Since the dome emanates from the caster, it moves as the caster does."

"Awesome."

"Indeed."

"What was that all about anyway?"

"That…was the spirit of an old friend of mine…she said that there was a powerful being in danger…a potential host…and she needed to go help."

"Who is it?"

"Dunno the name yet…when she gets there, I'll know…but whoever it is…well…the fuckers who did that to her...better pray they don't follow."

* * *

Yay I'm done! It took a while to come up with the idea, but I hope you all like the little twist I put into it! Zero will have a slightly bigger role now, but after the next couple chapters he'll take a backseat to Harry and the others again. I hope you all can spot the game and anime references here!

First, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. There's so many I cant respond to each one of you individually, so I'll aim mostly for the ones who have questions.

Which after checking over the reviews there are very few of…so I'll make a few explanations of stuff I guess…

D&SMaster: So far it doesn't seem like she's paying a price…but that would probably be due to the seals she made on herself. Not only do they activate and grant her more power, but they absorb some of the excess power she has, which ALLOWS them to grant her such boosts in power. As it is now, she'll only be able to use mid level alchemic spells, but her transmutation will be whatever she wants it to be…within limits of course.

Alorkin: Voldemort…yeah he made a mistake there…but I think it's because it was a test to see what these creatures of his could do. Which is why none of the inner circle were there.

Yes, I'm sure it wasn't Draco and his cronies…actually I have plans for him… Zero's not from Inuyasha…it's a name I made up for another fic character, and it kinda stuck. Hermione's Ragnarok attack was modeled after the attack of the same name in Golden Sun…and considering it's power…I'm not surprised by its name. Nice little joke there on his Ougi. Your take on Hermione's upbringing COULD be possible…I've not read the seventh book yet so did JKR ever get into her childhood at all?

Awlric Hayell: ooh you missed the second one. FMA was the first, but Golden Sun and Golden Sun II: The Lost Age for Game Boy Advance was the second. Close though.

Lael Harrington: As you see in this chapter, Zero is SUPPOSED to be Overpowered. He's a deity. But there ARE restrictions on him, he can't kill Harry or Voldemort, and he's really only there to gather information. Most of the time, outside of classes, he's gonna be on his own journey searching for how Snake Face managed to summon those Genma…ESPECIALLY since that's cross dimension summoning.

Shawn Pickett: I'm pretty sure I already responded to your supposed rant…but if I didn't, sorry. I would here, but I don't have the space really. As for Hermione being too powerful…well, she needs to be. Harry's gaining power faster than anyone else, Luna is Harry's equal on the Light half, Bea will soon be his equal on the Dark half…if Hermione's gonna keep up, she needs a serious power boost. So, she can do signless transmutation, and the power to control the elements of nature to an extent. Zero is Xenmaru, who is a Deity, so he's insanely powerful, but he can't really help TOO much. He can train Harry a bit, and teach the rest of the school some magical manipulation of the elements, but that's about it. He can't interfere TOO deeply, or the Fates will counterbalance by either granting Voldemort some serious power, or summoning another Deity to fight on Voldy's side.

Well, that's all for now. We've covered Full Metal Alchemist, Golden Sun, and Okami…now, I threw in a couple more, lets see who's an FPS fan here…


	13. Shinigami

**WARNING**

**WARNING**

**This chapter contains depictions of scenes containing extreme violence, blood and gore, mentions of child molestation and rape, and the detailed description of many heinous events.**

**If such things disturb or unsettle you in any way, shape, or form, it is advised you not read the following, and pick up at the designated area, indicated by the words "Organization XIII."**

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter XII: Shinigami**

**Unknown Location…**

Thomas Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, rested on his throne he created himself from the skulls of those once buried under the earth within the graveyard near his home, the Riddle Manor. Using immense amounts of "Dark Magic" he had changed the inside of the manor to resemble a gothic castle, complete with guillotines, swaying flame chandeliers, and dark, dank dungeons.

Before him lay the battered naked bodies of a half-blood family. The father, long since deceased from the famed 'Killing Curse' lay next to the bruised, bloodied body of his wife. Her form was mutilated, violated and; in the case of random parts of her skin, obliterated. She too was dead. The one that remained was their fourteen year old daughter. A girl with long red hair, beautiful blue eyes and fair skin. She was being held in place by two of the demonic soul sucking beings known as Dementors.

Tears ran down her face, mingling with the blood dribbling from her mouth, a by-product of being slapped around by many of the so called "Dark Lord's" forces, the Death Eaters. Her body was bruised, bleeding and battered…but her innocence, the one remaining part of her body and soul that remained untouched, pure, was not yet lost. However, the mind numbingly nightmarish effects of the demonic beings holding her had paralyzed her completely…and that innocence…was about to be lost.

"Lucius…come forth…"

One of the robed beings stepped forward.

"Yes my Lord."

"You have done well in bringing the Dementors to me…for that, you will be rewarded…I have it in good knowledge that your wife no longer satisfies you."

"It is as you have heard my Lord…she wishes to not engage in such activities with me any longer…she has been since punished, and sealed within our own personal dungeons for her impudence."

"Very good Lucius…you are permitted to take this child."

"Your generosity knows no bounds my Lord."

He prepared to take the girl, fear in her eyes, lust in his, to his private chambers…when an unusual voice rang out in the hall.

"Funny…Last I recall you were directly stated NOT to involve yourselves in affairs like this."

(Play .hack GU: AIDA)

The heads of the death eaters began rising, searching for the source…when it stepped out of the shadows. Lucius was the first to recognize the newcomer.

"You…you're the-

"Indeed I am, now shut up. What have you to say for yourselves?"

Voldemort rose. "Who are you to-urk!"

With a single look, the Dark Lord was slammed back into his chair, and bound by the sheer force of the power emanating from the young man.

"I believe I directed you to shut up." The others drew their wands, only to fall prey to the same oppressive force.

"What…are…you?!"

"You were created to stem the flow of souls to the next plain of existence. You were ordered to remain neutral. You have disobeyed that order."

The demonic beings shuddered. They knew exactly who was before them, they knew his power, they knew his rights…and they…have violated the orders given to them by their creator.

"You know the repercussions of such actions do you not?"

They shuddered again. This caused the Death Eaters, and even Lord Voldemort himself to tremble in fear. Nobody, no being, no man, no woman…can cause fear within the very beings that feed off of fear themselves.

"You will be destroyed; the souls you have consumed returned to their natural states and sent onto the next plain."

The Dementors dropped the girl and tried to flee, only to become encased in glowing orbs of light. An unholy shriek erupted from the creatures just before they exploded in a brilliant flare of light. All over the world, the same thing was happening to the rest of the Dementor race. For defying the will of their creator, for disobeying direct orders, their existence was to be terminated.

The oppressive field dropped, and the Death Eaters found they could once again move. The young man turned to them.

"As for you…"

Some of them flinched. A person with the ability to destroy those that cannot be destroyed is one to be feared indeed. The young man cast his eyes around the room, locking onto the naked bodies of the unfortunate family. He saw the spark of life in the girl's eyes…but it was clouded by the haze of fear, pain, and sorrow.

"I believe you were about to engage in non-consensual sexual intercourse with this young girl, were you not?"

"Indeed I was."

"Good…"

That stunned everyone.

"Good?"

"Yes, good. It means I have a reason to get involved now."

"What are you-

Lucius Malfoy, husband to Narcissa Malfoy, father of Draco Malfoy, was cut off by the young man when he raised his palm…and clenched his fist. The elder Malfoy found his arm suddenly crushed under an unknown force, turned to a bleeding pincushion, his bones and cartilage sticking out from the shriveled heap that was once his right arm. A scream of agony erupted from his mouth, only to be silenced by the sudden movements of the young man.

The elder Malfoy suddenly found himself being held in the air, held by his face, by the young man. The last thing he saw before his death was a glowing red light, coming from the palm of the figure's hand.

What everyone else saw, was a small red flare of light, and then the back of the elder Malfoy's head exploding open in a burst of red and grey liquid…his brain completely shredded, and his skull open with a gaping hole in it.

"It would seem…that it's time for the Shinigami to teach you a lesson…"

(Play one of three: Devil May Cry 3: Suffer, Okami: Geisha Spider's Extermination or Metroid Prime 2: vs. Quadraxis)

The young man took off his cloak to reveal a bare torso. A pulsing red light coursed around his body, leaving black markings behind. His hair streaked with white as his brown eyes turned red. Eight dark grey spikes erupted from his wrists in a spray of blood, four on each arm. In a haze of black, a gleaming broadsword appeared in his right hand. Two demonic looking wings erupted from the black symbols on his back.

Voldemort could only say one thing. "Oh shit…"

Someone fired the first curse. The Shinigami dodged to the left, and vanished in a flicker. The man gurgled as the black blade erupted from his chest, blood splattering on the ground. The dark being twisted his blade, and cut through his foe's side, opening him up. It then kicked the top half of the man, forcing everyone to witness one of their own split in two horizontally. Before anyone could react, he moved to the next victim.

For this one, he quickly grabbed the man's arm with his left hand, the red light appearing again. The arm literally exploded, causing muscles, bones and tendons to go flying all over the hall, amidst the man's agonizing screams. In a show of immense speed, the victim was pierced twenty times in the span of three seconds, blood pouring from all of his wounds, only to have his head lopped off by a swing of the blade.

Others began firing everything from blasting hexes, to stunners, to killing curses. A shimmering dome of transparent black energy surrounded the one called Shinigami, absorbing all of the attacks.

He retaliated by snapping the fingers on his left hand. What followed was a small explosion of dark energy, as a gigantic orb of black suddenly appeared, engulfing a large group of death eaters. They screamed in terror and pain as their bodies were ripped to nothing more than bloody chunks, and then obliterated, their very forms reduced to atoms. He turned to one of his assailants and pointed two fingers at him, then yanked his arm down to the floor near his feet. The target screamed in pain as his eyes were literally ripped out of their sockets, leaving naught more than bloody holes as they embedded themselves in the ground beneath the winged being's feet.

He then flickered in front of the bleeding man, and literally slammed his sword into the man's open mouth, spraying blood from the back of the man's head. He twisted his blade and cleaved the target's jaw off, spinning and cutting its legs off, before twirling his sword, and slamming it into the Death Eater's chest.

However his attack didn't end there. He channeled a small fragment of his energy into the blade, which was piercing the man's heart. The blade, covered in the blood of many, glowed red, as a gigantic runic glyph appeared beneath him. The glyph pulsed, and hundreds of blades of blood red energy flew from it, slicing and severing many a Death Eater's body. Arms went flying, legs were cut to ribbons, skin was shaved off revealing the muscle and bone underneath.

He withdrew his blade, ran to the nearest living Death Eater, and sliced open the man's stomach. He reached inside, and grabbed the man's intestines, ripping it from his body and slicing the man in the neck so he would choke to death on his own blood.

Again, he channeled his energy into his new acquisition, strengthening it. He flung his new intestine-whip at another Death Eater. The end of it wrapped itself around the man's arm. A swift yank, and the arm was ripped off, out of its socket, blood flying, and muscle hanging from the now empty shoulder. He wasn't done yet though. He spun the severed arm around his head and launched it at a different death eater. The force of the swing embedded the bone into the man's forehead, jamming into his brain. Blood dripped down from the man's ears as he dropped…one of the Shinigami's more merciful kills.

He abandoned his new toy, and with hands covered in blood, formed his nails into claws, and slammed his hand into the stumped man's chest. He ripped out the man's heart, and while the shocked man stumbled in surprise, clinging to the last bits of life within him, held it in front of his face, and clenched his fist. As if that was a trigger, the man dropped to the ground.

Finally, bored with the fools, the dark being lifted his blade, and forced some more of his energy into it. The blade released a black wave of energy. The energy washed over the remaining Death Eaters causing them to clutch their heads. Blood slowly seeped out of their noses…then their eye sockets…and then their ears…followed by grey fluid as their brains exploded.

Finally, he was done. Voldemort stood in horror, genuine fear on his serpent-like face. He had done horrible things…seen horrible things…commanded horrible things…but the sheer carnage that this…_demon_ brought forth…

"Who…who are you?!"

"I am the Shinigami."

"Why…why didn't you kill me?"

"Because it is not my place. Your destruction will come at the hands of another…one just as powerful as I. Be warned Mortal…for though your soul has an unholy connection to this plain, when your body is destroyed…you will answer to **me.**"

He snapped his fingers and banished the Dark Lord.

(Play Kingdom Hearts II Complete:** Organization XIII)**

"Pfft. Dark Lord my ass…"

He turned to the little girl, who was covered in blood from his actions.

_That's gonna give her nightmares for a while…_

He knelt down to her level, retracting the spikes on his wrists. She scampered backward in fear.

"You need not worry child. No harm will come to you."

"You-you killed them…"

"Indeed I did…they got no more than they deserved."

"They…they touched me…they touched mommy…and then killed her…mommy…and daddy…"

"And for that I am truly sorry. I could not prevent the loss of your parents…"

"Wh-why not?!"

"Because adults are out of my jurisdiction. Unless they have abnormally pure souls, which I apologize to say, your parents did not, my…interference…is limited. Children are my charges…those from conception to the age of 18, I am allowed to protect…I am truly sorry I could do nothing for your parents…but their bodies will be fixed, and given a proper burial, their souls properly sent to where they belong, this I can promise you."

The girl didn't understand half of that…but she nodded anyway.

The Shinigami pulled out a wooden stick.

"A wand! Yo-you're a wizard too?"

"Not exactly…while in this world I can access this realm's magic through the ways your kind does…but no, I am not truly a wizard."

He waved the wand around in intricate patterns. The girl's parents bodies were covered in a soft light, healed, and vanished into particles of energy.

"It is done. Their souls have been sent to the next life in peace."

"Th-thank you…"

"Now…you have a choice. I am taking you with me to safety…however…though you are young; you have seen and endured horrors no living form should go through…"

She shuddered, but nodded.

"You have the choice of remembering the exact events that happened this night…or having your memory altered, where you know you, and your parents were captured, tortured, but not the details, and your parents killed, while you were saved."

The girl stared at him, obviously in thought.

"I warn you, if you chose to remember the exact details of the night; you will no doubt be plagued by horrible nightmares, most likely re-living this night until your mind, heart, and soul have come to terms with the night's events. I regret to inform you that I can do very little to assist the nightmares…but I can at the very least shield you from them every few nights. The rest must be done on your own."

She opened her mouth to speak but he held up his hand.

"On the other hand, if you choose to forget the details, you risk the chance of the alteration fading, or breaking, and the memory returned in full force to your mind. You would no doubt live for at least a few years without the exact details, but without proper shielding, contact, and, loathe as I am to say it, therapy, your mind would return to its original state, the details returned to you, and the nightmares that accompany."

She closed her mouth and thought again. "You're…not just saying that…to try to keep me remembering…are you?"

He gave her a sad smile, though still looking demonic; she felt the warmth from his heart. "Nay child, I speak only the closest truth. Many have lived events such as these and had their memories altered, or even erased, only to have something happen that would trigger it to return. The mind is a very confusing, difficult and fickle tool to work with…even under the best conditions, it is likely that your true memories would return…when, however, I cannot say."

"You…will help me…with the nightmares?"

"To an extent…yes. I can attempt to circumvent my allotted meddling…but it would most likely draw forth the ire of the Fates…both towards myself, and you. The Fates are very unusual, fickle Goddesses…only one with immense power, skill, and a bit of luck, can defy them…though I've been attempting to reason them to start anticipating alterations in their threads. So far the Weaver isn't biting, but the others are coming around."

"You're a god?"

"In a sense. I've taken this form to monitor the situation in this world…I cannot intervene unless something unusual happens…though I can attempt to assist if children are involved. The loss of so many of his forces, not to mention the eradication of the Dementor race as a whole will set this so called "Dark Lord" back a good deal…but if what I believe is right, he will unfortunately end up stronger some how for it."

"I…I want to remember…so I know…the men who did this…were brought to justice."

"Is that truly your wish?"

She looked uncertain, but her eyes hardened. Her mind was made up.

"Yes."

He smiled at her. "You are one of the few who understand resolve. I am certain had those beings not been present, you'd have given the Death Eaters a hell of a time."

She gave a weak smile. He summoned forth his cloak.

"Here, wrap this around yourself."

She did so; surprised that she didn't feel embarrassed to be seen nude by the elder…person. _Well…I guess it's not THAT surprising…he did save my life…_

"My name is Lillith. Lillith Vanes. My friends call me Lilly."

The Shinigami's eyebrow raised at that. "You shall learn my true name in time, Lillith Vanes." He slashed his wand in an X shape. Two glowing red lines formed an X in the air, which called forth a swirling white mist.

"Rest my dear." She nodded, and he waved his hand over her face. She slumped in his arms, dead asleep.

He vanished his wand, and picked her up, bridal style.

_They must have had her for a couple of weeks…I can feel her body eating itself…well…when we get there, she'll have plenty to eat…_

He stepped through the portal, which vanished after he walked into it. In twenty four hours, the Wizarding authorities, the Aurors would arrive…and many would immediately recall their breakfasts in a physical manner…horrified, yet awed, at the sheer carnage of the scene.

**

* * *

**

**Hogwarts Great Hall: Dinner Time…**

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge was having a rather heated conversation with Albus Dumbledore, on the running of the school. Fudge was his usual flustered self, annoyed, red-faced and angry, while Dumbledore was playing the calm, collected card…but that card was about to run out. Thankfully, or not, depending on who you are, there was a rather potent distraction.

(Play Wild Arms Alter Code F: Warrior's Whistle)

A large glowing red X appeared in the center of the hall. It pulsed three times, and then spun. The X blurred and swirled into a glowing white portal.

The group that was with the Order of the Phoenix stood up suddenly, as did the teachers.

"Isn't that…Mist Warp?"

The figure that stepped out of the portal wasn't the one they were expecting.

"Merlin what is that thing?!"

The Shinigami glared at the Minister. "This 'thing' as you so put it just saved this girl from a fate worse than death _Minister._"

"Mind your tongue-urk!"

Dolores Jane Umbridge, a fat toad-like woman was attempting to pull her usual bullshit…when a single glare from the Shinigami froze her in place. She shuddered violently.

"I've but one word for you, _Dolores. __**Tsukuyomi!**_"

Nothing happened. Moments later Umbridge let out a horrifying scream…and dropped to the ground, twitching.

The teachers drew their wands, only to have the minister scream out.

"STOP! LOWER YOUR WANDS!"

Surprised, everyone did so.

"I see you're NOT as stupid as you look."

"My apologies Lord Shinigami…my aide-

"Was an idiot. Though it is indeed your fault so many suffered at her hands last school year, I'll dismiss that event as sheer stupidity…she will be indisposed for a few months…after which she will be fired, fined, and, thrown into the most disgusting dungeon you can find…correct?"

"Y-yes, it will be as you wish my Lord."

Hermione, many Ravenclaws, Beatrice, the teachers, and some of the elder year student's eyes widened in shock.

However, Dumbledore seemed to have missed something.

"Cornelius…who is this being that has such sway over your actions?"

"Dumbledore you fool! This is the Shinigami himself, the legendary God of Death!"

"Actually I'm only an assistant…but Death doesn't mind me having the title…I think she likes having someone else take the blame for some stuff finally…gives her a vacation."

"Yes…of course."

"Minister, you will send a group of Aurors to the location that will appear on your desk. You will give them until this time tomorrow to prepare themselves for what they will see. I suggest you begin now."

"Yes, right away Lord Shinigami. May I ask what will become of Dolores?"

"She will be transferred to your office after you arrive."

"Very good…by your leave Lord Shinigami. Dumbledore, I will speak with you later on that matter."

And with that, Fudge left.

"God DAMN he's a fucking lamb…I could tell him to go jump off a bridge and he'd do it in a second…"

The Shinigami shook his head.

"Dumbledore, to your office."

And the Shinigami vanished. His voice rang out.

"Bring the group that encountered your newest teacher last night."

Harry blinked. Ron spoke.

"Bloody Hell…"

* * *

Bloody hell indeed. I know many of you are questioning my sanity right now. Well, I'm perfectly fine…except for the nervousness at the interview I have today. I thought of this idea last night before falling asleep…to show the power of the Shinigami…plus I've been wanting to do that little whip trick for a few months now.

Fear not, there wont be too many, if any, chapters like this. I don't do it often for any of my stories unless I'm currently pissed or feeling some other form of massive negative emotion. I gave a warning at the beginning of the chapter though, so if anyone bitches about the contents I'll bitch back about the warning.

To answer a few questions before they get asked:

In this story, to explain the existence of Dementors, it is made that they were created by the High-Deity, Goddess of Death, to assist in the harvesting of souls to return to alternate realms. As such, they were given the ability to draw forth the negative emotions and memories of their target, to weaken the hold the body and mind have on the soul, and absorb it. When they joined with Voldemort, they disobeyed a direct order from their creator not to get involved with either side, staying neutral, and were set to be destroyed.

Anyone smart will notice what I did with the new girl. She wont have too big a role, just needed someone to fill the "damsel in distress" line. Though the name…well…you'll see.

Alright, last I checked I yet again got a good amount of reviews…so once again, I'll address the pressing questions, but I thank each and every one of you for your support.

Hunter 1: Unreal Tournament 2004. Actually if I recall correctly, the Shock Combo was around since the first UT. I think the Shock Rifle was my favorite weapon in that game…

Awlric Hayell: MP? Ehh…actually I have a fic I gave up on that featured the Ing from MP…I might redo it if I get bored enough. It wasn't TOO bad…just a bit chaotic and unrealistic…Luna does seem the type for the Power Suit doesn't she? But then I'd have to make Snape Ridley…and Voldemort a woman…thing…and turn it into Mother Brain.

Lets see who was paying attention…the Shinigami, some of Hermione's power, and the meeting of who the "host" is will be seen in the next couple chapters!

Hehehe…I'm gonna sooo get some interesting responses from this one…I hope you liked what happened to the death eaters…bloody bastards got what they deserved!


	14. History

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter XIII: A lesson in History**

**Hogwarts** **Castle: Headmaster's Office…**

(Play .hack SIGN: The World)

The Order, and the group that met Shinzaki Zero had entered the office…to see a strange white haired woman wearing naught more than lace undergarments and a cloak speaking with the Shinigami.

"Dammit I want him DEAD! Got it?! That bastard's been avoiding everything I throw at him; even _Clotho _is getting pissed about it."

"Serves her right the bitch, screwing up the threads of this world…"

"I know…you and she have some…personal history…but-

"But nothing. Tom's been a thorn in _everyone's _side lately. He's got control over Genma class Demons somehow."

"I noticed. We all did. It's getting hairy down here. Oh, thanks for wiping out the Soul Reavers for me. I was tracking down a rather nasty soul over in the Moon realm."

"How's Hotaru doing anyway?"

"She misses you something fierce. Once this is over, you'd best visit her; she might just take a page out of your book and wipe out a planet to get your attention."

"Eesh…same thing with the others?"

"Yep."

"Damn…well, that's what I get for having so many girlfriends over the course of so many lifetimes…"

"Oh and…they're all planning on heading to the Dream World to yell at you by the way."

"Oh DAMMIT!"

"Yeah, the others have bets running who's gonna kick you in the pants first."

"Either Lilka or Hotaru…"

"Oh? Why not Meru?"

"She'd rather use her hammer. Which is why when it's her turn I will be running FAR away from her…I like my conkers in tact thank you very much."

"HAH! Well, we'll see. Just don't forget, you have permission…not that you'd have NEEDED it after tonight…but still…"

She noticed the girl lying peacefully on the cleared desk.

"Is that…"

"The last one in this world…if not the universe…"

"They were taken out pretty badly weren't they?"

"Yeah…I'm not sure, but I think _She_ might have been her mother."

"And she's dead?"

"Unfortunately…if I wasn't trying not to draw Clotho's attention to this world, I'd have saved her as well…only now I find out Clotho's been watching this damn place already…"

"Yeah…sorry about that…like I said, I've been busy…and I'm pretty sure Atropos wouldn't have told you…if she even knew…"

"But anyway, I'm gonna ask."

"Good. I'm going to head back. When you wiped out the Reavers the souls they'd captured all went straight to my realm…gotta sort them out."

"Have fun with that."

"Oh fuck you too."

A sickly black portal opened behind the woman, and she gave the Shinigami a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Be careful alright? If he's the reason why Fortenbras came back…"

"I know. I've got back up here. Plus…" He looked at the girl. "If she's what I think she is…"

"Don't break her heart now, or you'll have another angry girl on your ass."

"I know I know."

The woman smiled and then turned. She went through the swirling black portal…and vanished.

He turned and tended to the young girl lying on the desk, when hesitantly, Harry piped up.

"Umm…excuse me…Lord Shinigami…"

The Shinigami turned and blinked.

"Why are you calling me-oh…right…" He smacked himself on the forehead. "Dumbass you forgot to change back…"

A series of rings of light appeared around him, swirling until they formed a cocoon of energy. Runes flashed along the rings, and the energy faded, revealing…

"Professor Shinzaki?!"

"Yo. What's up?"

"You…you're the legendary Shinigami?!"

"Yeah I thought I told you that…"

"I don't remember…"

"Hmm…" He looked over his memories. "Yep I definitely told you that…but whatever, it's not important."

Ron broke in. "Mate that was bloody brilliant what you did to the toad back there!"

"Meh…she had it coming."

"What spell was-

"Who was that? Better yet, who is _THAT_?"

"Death and a girl I saved, in that order."

"Death? I don't think that could have been death…"

"And why not?"

"Well…"

"She was bloody HOT mate!"

Hermione smacked Ron upside the head while Xenmaru laughed.

"That she is. Actually that's her main form. She takes that one to ease the passage of male souls to the next life. She's got a really freaky looking form, and then a more reserved form for the women. But she prefers that form. Something about freedom of movement…bloody wench went and corrupted Kira with that…"

"Kira?"

"Nevermind."

There was a weak moan, and the body on the desk shifted slightly. Immediately they saw a change come over Xenmaru. He went from joking to deadly serious in a matter of seconds.

"Where…am I?"

"Hogwarts Castle…more specifically, you're lying on the desk of the Headmaster."

"Oh…that would explain why my back hurts…"

It took a few moments…but suddenly the girl's eyes widened and she started shuddering. In a move that surprised everyone present, Xenmaru swept her up into his arms and held her. The girl burst into tears.

"It wasn't a dream was it?"

"No way in hell I'd give ANYONE with a soul as pure as yours a dream like that…"

"They're really dead…aren't they?"

"Yes, child…I'm sorry to say they are."

The girl cried louder, while Xenmaru softly rubbed her back, rocking her back and forth. Immediately a wave of calm washed over the entire group. Luna gasped as her eyes picked up the sheer amounts of energy being given off by the Mercenary.

"It's…beautiful…"

"Miss Lovegood?"

"You can't see it can you? The array of color coming off of him…it's so beautiful…"

"Thank you…"

They all turned back to Xenmaru and the girl.

"I can only express my regret in being unable to save the rest of your family…there was a being…who's ire I'd rather not have brought to this world…but had I known she was already keeping an eye on it due to that snake bastard…"

"It's alright…you did it yourself, they're in a better place now…"

"Yeah…you'll see them again one day…but hopefully not for a long while."

The girl nodded, and sniffled a bit. Xenmaru conjured a box of tissues for her, and she blew her nose. She gave a funny face at the snot.

"Eww."

The group chuckled. The girl flinched and hid herself behind Xenmaru.

"Easy there kiddo. They won't hurt you."

"Mister Shinzaki…might I ask, who this young lady is?"

Zero looked at the girl, as if asking her permission to tell her story. She looked at him confused for a moment, and then nodded.

"Her name is Lillith Vanes. She was one of the three people captured by Voldemort two weeks ago. Her and her family were tortured...her mother was raped and killed…her father gutted like a fish…and she was to become Lucius Malfoy's plaything…"

Gasps of horror and shock, and a few curses rang through the room. Suddenly Lillith got a very sick, sadistic smile on her face.

"But they got what was coming to them…they got their penance indeed…"

Luna's eyes widened once again. The girl was giving off a wave of solid black.

"You see it don't you?"

Everyone turned to Zero.

"She's been touched by the darkest emotions this world has to offer. As such, her soul is forever changed. But it's not all bad. With a bit of training, she'll be a formidable opponent…and had those damned creatures not been there…well…"

"Creatures?"

"Dementors. Those blasted things joined Voldemort."

"What?!"

"Oh no…how are we going to fight them as well?"

"You won't."

"What? Why not?"

"Because they've all been destroyed."

"How?"

"I did it."

"You…but you can't meddle in mortal affairs!"

"Oh I can. I just didn't want to. See, Clotho's a bitch. If I did _too _much in this world, she'd have noticed a shift in the thread. She'd have traced it back to me, and since she hates my guts, she'd take her ire out on whatever world I was on. I didn't wanna risk that…but it turns out she was already watching this world because of ol' Tommy boy."

"Wasn't she the one that told you to come here anyway?"

"Yes…but trust me, she's a bitch. She's the weaver that guides living beings to their destinies…but she's not got the temperament for it. She's got the skills, I'll give her that, but her personality leaves a LOT to be desired. And she only told me to go to the world Fortenbras was going to appear."

"Oh…I see."

"Besides, it would have been well within my jurisdiction to take those damn things out. See, what you call Dementors we call Soul Reavers. They were created by Death to draw forth the souls of those who were slated for eternal punishment. When a Dementor drew out a soul, it was stored within them, until that particular Dementor was destroyed. To keep them from easily being wiped out, she gave them the power to draw forth the guilt and sorrow within a living being, it was their way of judging whether or not your soul was meant to be trapped within them. However that much power ended up corrupting them. So when they made their final mistake and joined Voldemort, I stepped in and wiped them out, in Death's place."

"Why…did you tell Fudge to give his Aurors a day to prepare themselves?"

"You'd have to see the memory to understand…"

"Very well…lets see it."

"Err…it's not exactly for the faint of heart…there's…a good deal of really nasty stuff going on there."

"Oh come on mate it can't be that bad."

"Alright then…" He withdrew the memory and placed it in the pensive."

"I've no need to relive that so…uhh…enjoy I guess."

The group vanished into the pensive.

"Should you have done that?"

"Probably not…but they'll see what happens when they don't heed my warnings…anyway, I've learned a bit of White Magic, so let me check you over for any lasting damage…"

**

* * *

**

**Thirty Minutes Later…**

Zero and Lillith were bored. They started talking about random things while Lillith played with his hair. Actually to be more accurate she was braiding it. He didn't care though, he could always change it back.

"Seriously, I really wanna meet whoever came up with the idea and give them a nice punch in the bits. I mean come on, how many levels of fucked do you have to be to make something like a Vomit flavored candy?! I mean I'm surprised the nutty bastard hasn't made a shite flavored one yet!"

"That's coming out next year actually, along with fertilizer and sand."

"You're effing kidding me right?"

"Nope."

"Jesus effing Christ! What the hell is WRONG with people?"

"Well what about blood pops?"

"Those are fine; they're perfect for the Vampire community. Though you've got to wonder…are they made from real blood, or just blood flavored?"

She shrugged and continued braiding his hair, while Fawkes preened his feathers. Suddenly, there was a swirl of energy, and the group returned.

"Welcome back."

Everyone just stared.

"What? Is it the hair? Dammit woman I TOLD you braids wouldn't look good on me!"

Lillith smacked him on the arm. "Don't be stupid, you look fine."

"Bloody hell mate…that was…"

"WICKED! My god I didn't know you could DO some of those things to a body!"

Everyone stepped away from Beatrice again.

Xenmaru blinked.

"Excited much?"

"She's…got problems."

"Oh hush Harry, I just happen to be used to seeing horrid things like that…though I must say, that touch with the whip was very nice."

"I've been waiting to see if that'd work for a few years now…"

Dumbledore was speechless.

"How…how is it you command such power? Deity or not, it should have been diminished in that form!"

Xenmaru sighed.

"Alright, everyone get comfortable…it's time for a history lesson…"

* * *

(Play Wild Arms V: At the Depths of the Frozen Heart)

_**Long ago, when the universe was first created, there was a powerful being. She was Tiamat, the great Goddess of Chaos. She alone ruled both destruction and creation, worlds were born, and died at her whim. The Deities derived much of their powers from her. She who controlled all of existence.**_

_**However, the Deities had a certain semblance of free will, and they rebelled against her. Not that she was an unjust ruler or anything, but because they didn't like the thought of someone controlling her. As powerful as she was, they were her children, she could not bring herself to harm them. As such, they attacked and drained her of her powers. They could not kill her, for they would be killing themselves as well, but they banished her, sealed her within the very center of existence. A world hidden within the universe, known as the End of Time. It was at this point that all timelines converged into one.**_

_**The Deities could not control her vast power, however, and it escaped them. The power split unevenly, one half being stronger than the other. Destruction being stronger than Creation. The two halves bound themselves to different souls, and for a time, there was peace. However the soul of Destruction found the soul of Creation. Surprisingly, the two hosts fell in love…but then tragedy struck. The world that the two souls incarnated in, was brought to war. The war tore the two halves apart, the host of Creation being killed. She died in the arms of the soul of Destruction, who mourned the loss of his other half greatly. With her final breath, she gave her power, her soul, to her other half.**_

"_**So we may always be together…" She stated. Reluctantly, the soul of Destruction absorbed the soul of Creation, and once again, the two halves became one. Using his vast power, to forcefully end the war, he destroyed the entire world, expelling the souls living there to the Realm of Death.**_

_**The Deities were frightened. The power of existence had awakened, and it seemed to be upset…however the soul vanished from their sight. Not knowing its origins or the true extent of its power, it wandered, pondering. Eventually it came to a realization. It was too strong. So, it decided to seal its power away.**_

_**It separated its power into seven pieces. Six would be scattered throughout the universe, never to be gathered in one place. The seventh would be re-sealed within another soul, thus destroying him, but keeping the power safe.**_

_**However all was not to be as he planned.**_

_**Over the course of thousands of generations of reincarnation, the soul housing the seventh piece would slowly re-unite with its brethren. One by one, the seven pieces of existence were brought back together. Once again, the powers combined and re-forged the power of Chaos. This soul too, realized its true power and potential. As much as the power begged to be used after so long…the soul decided once again to split its power. It would take the idea of the previous owner and segment into seven pieces, however to change things up, it would keep the power connections intact. The soul decided to split the seventh piece into two halves, the way things originally were. One was destruction, the other creation. Knowing that sooner or later the immense power that he held would be needed for SOMETHING, he sealed the core of the power in the center of the Realm of Dreams.**_

_**By making the six remaining parts into keys, and binding the keys to souls, he effectively created a balanced system. Not only would all six keys be required to WILLINGLY gather, but both halves would need to at least be together willingly, before the power could be unleashed. Unknown to him however, he sealed the opposite halves into two souls that were bound together. This bind, this connection, is what the mortal beings called "soul mates." Every soul has a second half, two parts of a pair. Not every soul however meets its other half. Most of the time the two halves are sealed into bodies of opposite genders, but there have been cases where soul mates have been the same gender.**_

_**Everything was set into place, the core of the power would be sealed in the Dream World, the six pieces were within living mortals who would be informed of their power by the soul fragments within them, and would take up their role as guardians, and the seventh was broken into two equal sides, and bound to souls to live in piece.**_

_**This time however, would have a different outcome. The Deities had gotten a sense of what was happening, and were monitoring things. The six performed their duty, taking hold of one of each six parts of the dream world. The two halves were born, and lived peacefully…or so it seemed.**_

_**The soul housing the power of Destruction...was sealed within a boy…a boy who was ridiculed and laughed at for his lack of ability. For you see, this world that they were born into, held many people who could manipulate the elements, cast magic, if you will. In fact, the majority of people could, and surprisingly they lived peacefully with those who couldn't…for the most part.**_

_**This boy grew weary of the taunting, the torments…the sadness. But he pressed on. He had a few friends, surprisingly a few admirers, and a few allies. But one day…in the defense of someone he knew…he was accidentally thrown off a building…sent to his doom. This was a variation that one of the fates, Clotho, had weaved. She didn't like the thought of the two halves being re-united, actually, none of the Deities did…but they knew their place. She was rebellious however. But what she did…only helped someone that none of the Deities thought they'd ever encounter again.**_

_**The great Goddess Tiamat had awakened. She woke with the second coming of her old powers being re-joined. She watched as the soul split itself in two, sealing the power away. She saw how Clotho had secretly weaved in that the bearer of Destruction would be killed. Being the most powerful creature in the known universe, even with the majority of her power sealed, she stepped in. She grasped the thread of life that belonged to the bearer of Destruction, and brought his soul to her, when his body expired.**_

_**The boy awoke to a realm of grey.**_

"_**Where am I?" He asked the void. A black flame appeared in front of him, and spoke. "You are with me child of Destruction."**_

_**Confused, the boy asked. "Destruction? Who is it that speaks to me?"**_

"_**I am the Tiamat, the once ruler of the universe, stripped of my power, and sealed by my own creations."**_

"_**Not unusual in some circumstances, humans do it all the time…Were you unjust in your rulings?"**_

"_**Nay child, I was just. My creations were gifted with immense power, power tuned directly to my being…however they feared me. They did not like having such power, and yet still being ruled. They rebelled, and as they were my children, I could not bring myself to cause them harm…thus I was defeated, stripped, and sealed within this place."**_

"_**Many apologies then, Milady Tiamat, on behalf of your foolish children."**_

"_**You need not apologize for actions you had no hand in, but the gesture is received with much thanks, child."**_

"_**I must ask, why have I been brought here?"**_

"_**What is the last thing you recall?"**_

"_**Falling. The feeling of falling…and then I blacked out, and wake up here."**_

"_**One of the three Goddesses of Fate, Clotho, the Weaver, had secretly weaved into your destiny, an early death. She was one of the first to rebel against me. Where her sisters are calm, and even tempered, she is wild, and uncontrollable. She fears that which she does not understand, and that which she fears, she leads to destruction. She feared the power you hold within you child."**_

"_**You mentioned that before…you said…the power of Destruction…"**_

"_**Yes my child, you hold within you the first half of my original essence, the power of Destruction."**_

"_**Then I understand why she feared me. Destruction knows few boundaries…even a God cannot fully escape its grasp."**_

"_**You are well learned child."**_

"_**I did independent studying on many subjects…and much thought. It's one of the reasons why I was ridiculed…my theories…didn't fit with others beliefs."**_

"_**And yet they could not be proven either way."**_

"_**Exactly, and if there is no proof either way, than it is a possibility…they didn't understand this."**_

"_**Few ever do my child. I am pleased to see that such a power has been gifted to one with such a tempered mind. The power of Destruction, as you have said, knows few boundaries. As such it is one of the most important forces in the universe."**_

"_**Oh? How so?"**_

"_**With its partner, Creation, it controls the very fabric of reality. For one cannot destroy what has not been created…"**_

"_**And one cannot create…if what is there has not been destroyed."**_

"_**You catch on fast child. You understand now what it is you hold?"**_

"_**Yes."**_

"_**Good. I shall awaken that part within you. Your world will be under attack soon…all I can say is to find your other half…find the one of Creation…only together, shall you stand against the threat that looms ahead."**_

"_**I shall honor your advice Milady Tiamat."**_

"_**I have no doubt of that my child. Now go. Return to your world. I give but one last piece of information. When you've found the host of Creation…you must then re-unite the six pieces of Chaos. I believe…if you succeed…your greatest wish will finally come true…"**_

_**And so, the soul of Destruction was reborn upon his world. However, the Deities had sensed his meeting with Tiamat, and moved against him. They fated the soul of Creation to do battle with him, which she did. And for a while she detested the very existence of her other half. But she saw something that opened her eyes to the truth.**_

_**As I stated before, the world was split into two groups, those with magic, and those without. Those without had technology to replace their inability to connect with the power within them. For the most part, people of both sides lived in peace, neither side being the stronger. Technology had its advantages and disadvantages, just as magic had theirs. As such, things like thieves, rapists, murderers, they all still existed, but they were far fewer than now. And due to that, being either of the last two categories was met with severe punishment, from both sides. Being a thief…it all depended on the situation, what was stolen, who did the stealing, etcetera.**_

_**So when the holder of Creation saw how savagely the bearer of Destruction attacked those who murdered and raped for their own personal satisfaction, she changed her mind about him. The two began working together, and eventually fell in love. Just like before. Following Tiamat's advice, the two sought out the six pieces. They passed the tests placed before them…and eventually gathered them all together in an area that was created by the union. The soul of Destruction was happy…he had finally found what he was looking for…a family to call his own.**_

_**The Deities on the other hand, were quite angry with Clotho. Her actions had allowed for the seven pieces of existence to be reunited. Tired of the accusations, the insults the scorn, she stepped in again, and Weaved in something nobody could expect. You see, the power of Destruction was so vast, that its core relied on the negative aspects of emotions to be powered. Rage, envy, scorn, sorrow, depression, all those were the original triggers of Destruction…and when the power was triggered with one or more of those emotions, the holder would be transformed into a mindless beast, bent on Destroying all within its path.**_

_**She weaved in the key to all that. The previous holder of Destruction snuck into the realm of Deities and siphoned off a small part of Death, for with Destruction, Death tends to follow. He took that part and used it as a key to forge a seal, containing the stronger aspects of Destruction. He placed the seal in a location that even he didn't remember…but Clotho had found it. She weaved that the holder would find that seal, and release it, which he did. The effects took a while to take hold…but when they did…a good portion of the world was destroyed. Once again, she screwed up. She underestimated the power of Destruction. The Deities sent their Chosen, a group of beings, mostly teenagers, that had inherited the will of the Deities, to battle. They were defeated. Even the soul of Destruction's own Seraphim, children hand picked by the two halves to inherit the powers of the seven fragments of Chaos; were no match.**_

_**The battle came down to a fight between two halves. A fight, with devastating results. The being of Destruction completely outclassed the being of Creation. Once again, proof of the original uneven split was seen. The host of Destruction ruptured the very soul of the host of Creation. However the backlash from the severing of the link between the two forcefully returned the holder of Destruction to his senses, just in time to witness the death of his beloved. The Creation half insisted that he take her power within him, just like before, so she may always be with him. He did so, and cried in deep sorrow at the loss of his other half.**_

_**Clotho was beyond pissed. She went down to that world to personally set things straight. What ensued was a great battle between the newly formed soul of Chaos and his army, against her. His army fell, he was battered…but he was not beaten. Embracing the power of both death and rebirth, once again, the being of Chaos wiped out the entire world, taking out Clotho as well.**_

_**For you see, a Deity can be killed…but only in their home realm, and only in a specific way. Any other time, they simply become bound for a while. Knocked unconscious, and stuck in limbo until they wake. Before his soul could be sent to the realm of death, Tiamat once again grabbed it.**_

"_**I see you have become whole, my child."**_

"_**Milady Tiamat…"**_

"_**I must apologize child…I should have warned you that such a situation could come…"**_

"_**What do you mean?"**_

"_**The power of Destruction…originally the power of Chaos was split unevenly, with Destruction being the bigger half…however one of the previous holders sealed some of the darker urges of Destruction away…I believed that your soul would be strong enough to hold back the urges…and I was correct…but Clotho once again struck…I am deeply sorry for the loss of your other half my child…words…cannot even begin to express my regrets."**_

"_**It is not your fault Milady…you were correct in your beliefs…and I take it even you had no clue where the remaining power was sealed, correct?"**_

_**She agreed.**_

"_**Then you have nothing to apologize for. There was no way you could have predicted this event…though I thank you for your sympathy."**_

"_**You are quite welcome my child."**_

"_**So this is where you were."**_

_**The two whirled to see the Goddess of Death in her mortal form before them. Immediately, the soul of Chaos summoned forth a blade and stood in front of Tiamat protectively.**_

"_**Please, lower your weapon, I am not here to fight…I too would like to express my regrets for what has transpired. Clotho was not meant to intervene like that…in fact, I think I can say you did us all a favor when you bound her. Perhaps this will teach her not to step beyond her boundaries again."**_

"_**Who are you, and why are you here."**_

"_**I am the Goddess of Death. I watch the flow of souls from the mortal realm, to the realm of the dead, where I reside. Occasionally I take a more active role if a particular soul has found a way to stay bound to the mortal realm for longer than its allotted time…I work hand in hand with the Fates to make sure the cycle of Death and Rebirth flows smoothly."**_

"_**Interesting. Now state your purpose."**_

"_**As I said I am not here to fight…more…to offer you a job."**_

"_**A job?"**_

"_**Yes. You see, you did us a favor when you took out Clotho. She will return of course, but not for a while. Since we did not keep a closer eye on her, we are partially at fault for what has transpired. Normally we do not approach souls with this, but you are one of the few that deserve…special treatment."**_

"_**Continue…"**_

"_**As the new bearer of Chaos, you have unfathomable power…and I will not lie in saying we Deities do not fear this power. Since we are at fault for the events that have lead to you obtaining this power, we realize it is well within your rights to destroy us at your whim…but we would like the chance to redeem ourselves."**_

"_**I'm listening."**_

"_**We offer you the title of Shinigami. A God Slayer, if you will. Your task will be of many, but mainly to defeat and subdue any Deity class beings that overstep their boundaries. For the most part we do not have such troubles, and when we do, some of us incarnate into the lives of mortals to wage combat against our former allies, but we could use someone like you, a being with enough power to lessen the amount of casualties of both sides, and end these battles quickly. You would be subject to a good few of our rules and rulings…but otherwise you would be a freelancer, able to come and go as you please, doing as you wish."**_

"_**You fear this power that much?"**_

"_**To be honest? Yes. None of us have 'Died' ourselves, and we wish not to experience such a thing."**_

"_**Then how is it you have so little corruption?"**_

"_**Through a series of reincarnations. Occasionally, after a few generations, a Deity will return to the flow of souls to live a mortal life once again, to re-learn what it means to be human, to be subjected to the will of intangible beings. It keeps us tempered and from growing too egotistical…which is what lead to our rebellion against Lady Tiamat."**_

"_**Indeed. If I myself had thought of such a movement, I may not be in this position right now…"**_

"_**It's something we came up with when a few of our number suddenly started attempting to take over the mortal realm."**_

"_**Would I too be subject to this reincarnation?"**_

"_**Yes. But you would have a different deal. Where most Deities have the majority of their powers bound from them, and contained in another soul, one who takes their place, you have too much power to do so…so we would only be able to seal it deep within your soul. It would be your incarnation's choice whether or not to attempt to access it. So you would not be without power if you need it. And also there would be a failsafe put into place, should the world you live in come under assault by a rogue Deity."**_

"_**Hmm…"**_

_**He thought for a while, pondering if he should or not.**_

"_**You should accept their offer."**_

"_**Milady?"**_

"_**She speaks truth. I can sense this within her…and this would give you a chance to be free, like you've always wanted. Other than your original other half…you still have your Family."**_

"_**They weren't killed?"**_

"_**Nay child, they were of the Realm of Dreams…and they returned to that realm. Go with Death, and you shall see them again."**_

"_**I…very well…I accept your offer."**_

_**Death let out a sigh of relief. "That's a load off my chest…for a while I was afraid you'd refuse…"**_

"_**I thought of doing that…but…I miss my family…"**_

"_**Yes I know…I made sure to lead their souls back to the realm of dreams…"**_

"_**Zero…"**_

"_**Milady?"**_

"_**Take what remains of my power…"**_

"_**But, Milady you'll-**_

"_**I will be fine Zero. My soul will remain here, where eventually my power will once again rebuild itself. Right now however, it would be best for you to take what remains…to assist in your new quest."**_

"_**If you are certain."**_

"_**I am. It is my gift to you…"**_

"_**Thank you…Milady Tiamat…"**_

_**And the great black flame engulfed the soul of Chaos…granting him even further power…and a piece of the soul of the Great Goddess Tiamat herself.**_

"_**Well then…welcome to the fold, Shinigami Xenmaru."**_

"_**Circle of Xen…I like it."**_

"_**I thought you would. Now come on, I've got a bet to win…"**_

* * *

"That boy…you…you were the boy in that story weren't you?"

"Yes. Through many generations of incarnations I've met many people, lived many lives, and learned many things. The being Zero Shinzaki that sits before you is the collection of all those lives, all that knowledge."

"So you aren't fully bound by their rules…"

"Nope. I can pretty much do whatever I want…but I keep myself moderated. Because though they fear striking out at me personally…some of the more…brash Deities wont hesitate to attack the world I'm on."

"Well…this has been…a rather…informative night."

"Oh it's not over yet."

"…it's not?"

"Nope…I've got one more thing I need to do…Lillith?"

"Y-yes?"

"Your mother…what was her name?"

"Marivel…why?"

"Marivel Armitage?"

"Yes…Armitage was her maiden name…why?"

"Because my dear…your existence…has just made Voldemort's campaign a LOT more difficult."

"Why?"

"He lost the support of the Vampires when he attacked your family."

"What? How?"

"Because my dear…you…are the last Crimson Noble…"

* * *

And I'm done. Plenty of plot, history and information in this chapter. What's a Crimson Noble you ask? Well…those who have played a certain RPG will know…and those who haven't…will find out next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the history I created for the Deities, along with Zero.

I spent a good half hour coming up with it…it basically wrote itself in my head, again while in the shower…I swear, that place is GOD for making good ideas…

Thunder Demon: You basically said it yourself right there, Hermione isn't tempered in her passions. She is borderline obsessive with certain aspects…she's generally a rather unbalanced person if you look at her carefully enough. She has massive potential, but a lot of it is squandered by her personality…which can be changed if someone would set her straight. She needs someone to basically slap her in the face with everything wrong with her…and then…she will become the great person she truly can be.

Ranger Dragen: Oh he's not 'Death' more of a messenger of hers. As explained, he does general battle against beings that are too strong for mortals to handle. And…as you'll see…the Death of Lillith's family was important…

Awlric Hayell: How's this. If I ever decide to go back and re-do my Harry Potter/Metroid Prime 2 crossover fic…I'll give Luna, or SOMEONE female and important, the Varia Suit…like Hermione. Actually that could work out…hmm…

Hemotem: as partially stated above, Voldie seems to be able to summon some powerful creatures to do battle for him. Since his human force is basically wiped out, he'll be forced to use the inhuman force…which is generally a lot tougher.

D&S Master: yep, the Tsukuyomi was perfect for her. Trap her in her own mind the bitch.

Shawn Pickett: Indeed, they had it coming. But now…Voldemort is left with a bunch of monsters to command…this will have its repercussions I assure you.

Hoo…well another chapter down. Man this one's long. You'd all better enjoy it dammit…cause I'm gonna be starting work soon…and DAMN am I gonna be tired for a while…


	15. System Chronos

**From Fantasy to Reality**

**Chapter XIV: Training**

"Alright you little twits listen up and listen well. We've got three more of these meetings before I have to take off and do some crap that doesn't involve you lot. So let's get down to it. How many of you think you're tough shit and could take me down?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"Oh come on, I'll even thrown in a handicap, I can only use a training sword and my own skill. No magic, no other abilities, just good ol' speed."

A few nervous hands rose.

"Bah, pussies! Fine I'll pick you lot out myself!"

It was two days after the revelation that Zero Shinzaki was Shinigami Xenmaru, one of the most feared beings in the magical world. After sensing something on the edge of his vision, he instructed Dumbledore that he would be holding another class in a few days, one that the old man was invited to attend.

"You'll learn something." He said with confidence.

So, Professor Shinzaki had picked a handful of students, ranging from all different years. What surprised some, was that instead of picking Harry Potter…he picked Draco Malfoy.

"Alright you lot. You're a fucked up mesh of different years, skills and powers. The scenario is this, I'm one of the Drab Lord's inner circle, and you've got nowhere to run or hide, so you've got to fight for your lives."

He flicked his wand a few times and a goblet turned into a wooden training sword.

"Like I said, I've got a handicap, no magic. Now, in order to possibly survive, you have to come at me with the intent to kill, got it?"

They all nodded numbly. Even Draco was wary, considering this was the man who effortlessly defeated his Godfather Severus Snape.

"Well then…let's get started!"

(Play Okami: Red Helmet's Extermination)

A shimmering blue field of energy surrounded the battle area. No spells could get in, or out.

One of the third years fired off a stunner, which was easily evaded. Zero dashed in and swung his weapon, smacking the young boy in the leg. He opted not to wear shoes, instead wore some strange bandages on his feet, so when he pivoted on his left foot and shoved his right in the child's stomach, the impact, though painful, did less damage than it should have. He arced his body backward as a white flare shot past him. A first year had attempted to take charge and use a Flippendo on him…but it missed.

The second third year fired a Banishing Hex at Zero, to distract him from the first year. Zero smiled slightly at the action…the first year was a Slytherin…and the third a Gryffindor. _Interesting…_

A fifth year fired a lance of flame at him, only to have it evaded, and find a wooden blade in his side. It hurt, a lot. More so because it was a blunt object. The fifth year found himself being knocked unconscious by repeated strikes.

Devastating spells were being sent at him by the upper years, as such, he evaded all of them, some narrowly. _I shouldn't have made myself unable to use magic…meh, whatever, it's a nice challenge._

Spinning around he evaded a blasting hex and swept the legs out from under his attacker. What he DIDN'T expect was to be knocked aside by a charging third year.

He laughed and got up.

"Not bad, looks like you're one of the lucky ones…"

He quickly dashed and suddenly appeared in a flicker of movement in front of the third year. He swung, only to miss as a Hufflepuff Sixth Year Accio'ed him away.

"Good, Good!"

He flickered again and appeared in the face of the Slytherin Seventh Year that tried to blow him up. He vanished, and multiple welts suddenly appeared on the seventh year as he was jerked around. Zero reappeared and the seventh year fell to the floor unconscious.

Slowly he decimated the group, taking out the upper years first as they were the bigger threat, and then defeating the lower ones due to their lack of knowledge. However, later he would comment that he had the hardest time against the younger years, not because he hates harming children, but because despite their house differences, they were among the first to work together. In fact, the two first years that were left, a Slytherin girl, and a Gryffindor boy, managed to pool their magic together into a VERY effective banishing hex. Zero quickly recovered, but he made a mental note to pull those two aside later on.

Soon, only Malfoy was left.

"So…the last one standing is the coward spawn of a dead Death Eater."

"I'm no coward!"

"But you are. You only sent one or two spells at me, you constantly pushed others in the way of spells flying at you and were more than happy to sit back and let others fight for you. You are a coward Draco Malfoy, just like your father."

"Shut up! You know nothing of Father!"

"I know he bowed at the feet of a half-breed infidel, I know he killed and tortured countless beings for the sake of 'Power'…and out of fear…fear that he would die at the hands of his so-called master. Not fear that he would leave his family, but fear for himself. Your father was the worst kind of coward…and I wonder…what of your mother?"

"You leave Mother out of this!"

Zero taunted further. "I wonder…if you are even your father's son? Knowing him he probably forced your mother to whore herself off to Voldemort, hoping she would grant him further prestige in the eyes of-

"Shut up! SHUT UP! AVADA KEDAVERA!"

Zero blinked as a raging green light shot out of the blonde boy's wand and slammed into him, sending him flying into the distance. The wards placed to protect the spectators pulsed and shattered like glass. The Dueling Teacher slammed into one of the tables, breaking it. As the anger vanished, Draco stood horrified at what he'd done. He dropped his wand and fell to his knees.

Immediately everyone drew their wands and pointed them at Draco. He flinched back in fear.

Suddenly a glowing light emanated from where Zero landed.

(Play Brave Fencer Musashi: Wondrous Flower)

There was a tinkling sound, like something small breaking…and Zero got up…laughing.

"Damn! I knew you had it in you!"

"Wh-what?"

He held up a broken ring.

"It's called a Ring of Re-Raise. It cancels out the effects of an instant death spell once, and only once. I'm glad I kept it on, or I'd have been in trouble."

He walked over to Malfoy, who was trembling.

"You did good kid. Thought the spell you used could've been different, you reacted like I hoped you would. Remember that feeling, the feeling of embarrassment, of fear. We're in a war, a war where your opponents won't care what age you are, or what gender, or race, or what background you have, or even who your family is. They'll kill you, they'll rape your mother and sister, they'll torture your brother, they'll flay your father. You are nothing to them, so the only thing you can do when faced in that situation is make _them _nothing."

He turned to the Hall. "That is the lesson of today. To know how, and when to use lethal force. When protecting yourself, it should be the last thing on your mind, for there are ways to escape, even when you think there are none. Be mindful of your surroundings, be mindful of your opponent. The next lesson will focus on this, teaching you how to sense the presence of things that do not belong. You want to survive in this war? Find something worth protecting. Be it a friend, family, even a prized possession, find it, cherish it. A man's greatest strength comes from within, but sometimes only when something he cares about is threatened. One can easily throw away one's own life, but faced with the choice to throw away what, or who, they care about…that is where their power rises from."

He pulled Draco up by the arm. "You've got a good deal of power in you kid. Time I taught you how to use it right."

"Mister Shinzaki, I cannot-

"What you cannot do is seem to realize when something doesn't involve you."

"Mister Malfoy cast an Unforgivable-

"_Draco _was following the orders of a superior. I told him, I told _them _to come at me with the intent to kill. It's my own fault I got hit with it _after _I told him that he could use it. Everyone here knows his background, everyone here knows his father used it all the time, so him knowing how to isn't surprising. In fact, it was a reaction, not the one I was aiming for, but close enough."

"Still he-

"Needs to be trained, I know this. Oh yeah, you two!" Zero pointed at the two first years.

"Over here."

They slowly walked over, nervous.

"I got a friend of mine I wanna introduce you two to in a bit. That and I wanna go over some stuff you pulled off. Feel like learning things that older students learn?"

They nodded eagerly.

He ruffled both their heads, messing up their hair.

"Awesome. First few minutes are gonna be boring though, but after, we'll get to the fun stuff."

He tugged Draco's arm.

"Come on you. We're gonna have a little talk."

"Mister Shinzaki, I cannot allow-

Zero snapped his fingers at Dumbledore. Suddenly the old man was trapped in a glowing white sphere of energy with runic chains surrounding it.

"If you try to get out of that thing, it'll crush you before you can even pull up the energy for a spell. You're getting old Dumbledore, old and stupid. It's time you sit back, shut up and watched. Last time you acted you lead to the rise of Voldemort. You feel like being the reason this castle gets blown to hell?"

Realizing the implications of both the statement and the question he shook his head.

"Good. You're learning. You're a good man Dumbledore, too good. You know of hardship, but you've learned little from it. Perhaps being in that cage will show you that the pieces of the board matter more than the game ever would."

**Two Hours Later**

He brought Draco up to Dumbledore's office. As soon as they stepped in…

"So, how did it go?"

"Pay up old man."

"So I wasn't seeing illusions, very well." Dumbledore tossed a galleon to Zero. Draco sputtered.

"But…he…you…"

"That was a fake. Constructed to act like the real Dumbledore, while he checked over-

"Zero!"

A red blur slammed into his side.

"Hey Lilly, how are you?"

"I missed you!"

"Who is…"

"Draco Malfoy, meet Lillith Vanes, the last Crimson Noble."

"You still haven't explained what that is."

Through the door walked Harry Potter, and his group of friends.

"Potter…"

Harry nodded respectfully at Draco. "Malfoy."

Draco blinked, not expecting that.

"Surprised? I am too. But Zero told us you might be joining us, so I dealt with it."

"But…but…my father-

"One is not defined by the actions of their parents, but their own."

"He is right Mister Malfoy. You have a chance to study under some of the strongest magic users in history…along with the Shinigami himself."

"You're the Shinigami?!"

"Yep."

"So…you…"

"Yes…I killed your father…"

"I should be angry…but…I'm only sad."

"You know of what he did, so your soul is torn, unsure if you should be mad at the one who slay your father…or simply upset at his loss."

"How do you do that?"

"Perks of being a Deity…and paying attention. The other Deities tend to use me as an interpreter, since I'm good at reading souls."

"Why…am I here?"

"To learn. To see. To feel. You're here to learn to control the power within you, in a way that you wouldn't learn otherwise. Your father was Voldemort's servant, through the link of the Dark Mark, your father was tainted with Dark energy, and that has spilled over to you. Alongside Potter and his friends, you will learn both Light and Dark spells to combat what is to come…and…possibly learn more about yourself."

**

* * *

**

**(Three Months Later)**

It was a good plan. One that would have worked. But there was something wrong. Something Zero would kick himself over later on.

The world was Fucked.

He should have noticed it sooner, what with Harry and his friends being able to tap into the aspects and very powers of other worlds…but he didn't. Shrugged it off as "magic, anything's possible" which is true, but to an extent.

You see…Voldemort and Harry were TOO powerful. Their world wasn't meant to hold two near godlike beings battling on it. When they did finally battle, no matter who won, the massive release of energy from the destruction of the loser would cause an incredible influx of power that would most likely destroy the other. And when the other was killed by said influx, it would wipe out the rest of the world.

Zero realized this…and understood why.

It all came down to Clotho. The Weaver. She meddled one too many times. As such she signed the death warrant of that world. How did he know? Because originally he held the power of Destruction. He could see when things would be destroyed, how the could be destroyed, and why. He knew what was coming…and if that world were to collapse on itself…who knows what might happen to others surrounding it.

So he acted. He vanished mysteriously in the middle of their training, something that immediately worried Harry and Luna. What's worse is, Voldemort decided to attack with his new Army of Demons.

As the two groups fought, a sudden shadow washed over the grounds of Hogwarts.

The two battling sides stopped.

(BGM: Valkyrie Profile 2 – How Wicked Ruler)

They looked up. Above them floating upside down in the air was a massive island in the sky. A huge castle was on the center of that island. Hermione called out.

"That's…Twilight Castle?! But, that's the island of the Lord of Dreams! What's going on?!"

Voldemort looked over to the bushy haired girl. "Lord of Dreams? Another God?"

Inside the center of the castle, Zero stood, chanting.

_I'm sorry everyone…but this has to be done…_

Six beams of light appeared from nowhere and gathered at the tip of the center spire on the castle.

Sirius commented. "That…can't be good."

"ZERO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Somehow, the Lord of Dreams still heard the cry. _Something I don't want to…but must be done…_

"I call upon the powers of the Six Elements of Existence. By my status as God Slayer, heed my command!"

The beams intensified as six glowing orbs of light surrounded Zero inside his castle.

"Crushing Earth, Roaring Flame, Scattering Winds, Raging Waters, Eternal Darkness and Purifying Light! I command thee to combine thy powers and awaken the eternal power of Time!"

From the middle spire a blinding Silver light appeared. The beams stopped and were absorbed into the silver light. The light splintered and turned into a massive wave that covered the entire planet. The wave then emerged from the planet and shot to the Moon. From the moon it weaved its way to the Sun, and from the Sun waves of energy washed over the entire solar system.

"Wait…this is…Temporal Manipulation?"

Voldemort was shivering in fear. "SPEAK MUDBLOOD! What in Morgana's name IS GOING ON?!"

"He's…he's doing something to Time itself!"

"By my will as Creator, by my will as Destroyer, by my will as Chaos itself, I command thee! Return this world to what it once was before the manipulations of Fate started! By the Date held in my heart, by the will held in my soul, I confer the power of Time!"

Around the glowing center of the splintered light, a ring appeared. Just under that ring a series of glowing letters seared their way into existence.

"A clock…"

The giant glowing clock's "hands" started rotating backwards. Everyone watched as the rotations continued for nearly five minutes, spinning at an untraceable speed. Suddenly it stopped directly at the Roman numeral for twelve.

"_**SYSTEM CHRONOS!"**_

A fierce silver light engulfed the area…and then they knew no more…

Worlds reversed rotation; plants and animals ungrew and were unborn. The whole galaxy reversed itself to the way Zero remembered it.

_This time…Clotho _WON'T _fuck this up…_

* * *

And that's it. You're gonna hate me, but it's the end of this story. My reason is this, I lost interest. HOWEVER. I am planning a spin-off/sequel thing. In fact I even have the plot, and I will write and post the prologue today. THIS WILL NOT BE UPDATED FREQUENTLY! I'm warning you now, between work, finding a different job, my KH fic and other things, unless a shit ton of kickass Harry Potter fics show up and restore my interest in this genre, I wont be updating often. I have the first few chapters planned out, and it will be short. The basis will be of Zero fixing things the way they SHOULD have been. Harry will not be anywhere near as godlike as he was in this fic. It will be a roughly even match, and Zero will sow the seeds of a new generation.

I know many of you enjoyed this story, and will be upset to see it end like this, but fear not, it will be continued in another time. To clarify, because I know time travel is confusing, I'll explain what happened here.

Zero found that the world was going to be destroyed due to the levels of power existing on it. He KILLED the current timeline, being the Avatar of Chaos itself allows for that. So no, there is no alternate timeline where the world was destroyed. He grabbed the thread of Fate and severed it, and is weaving a NEW timeline. Unlike most time travel fics where they go back in time, and end up creating a new timeline that is a divergence from the old and thus the traveler's knowledge is no longer valid, Zero has ENDED that timeline for that world and reverted the ENTIRE galaxy to a specific day.

He's a god, he can do that.

He doesn't access his Temporal Manipulation often because Time, like Fate, is a fickle thing. It doesn't like being fucked with unless Time itself realizes something's not right. Then it normally picks someone who has some connection to where the problem originated and sends them.

Zero will have no repercussions for doing this. Why? Because Clotho, one third of Fate, already fucked with Time. He's simply undoing what she did; therefore he has gained the Favor of Time. It's not like Ocarina of Time where Zelda kicks Link back to another timeline before they met, and then that timeline continues with the world recovering from Gannondorf's takeover, while Link lives in another timeline where Gannondorf wasn't able to do shit.

So yes, this particular tale is over, but will be continued in another story.

And just so you know, the beginning of this chapter, up till the three months later thing, was how this chapter was supposed to be, before I realized I didn't know where the FUCK I was going with things. So instead of abandoning the whole damn thing like most people do, I'm weaving in a reverse. I think you'll like what's gonna come better anyway…


End file.
